Seeds of Discord: The Fruit of War & The Final Senshi Fight
by purplerose69
Summary: Nearing a new era of peace on Earth, a strange new group of Senshi arrive. However they don't intend on joining the Sailor Scouts but hold a dark grudge from a war long ago, bringing new demon enemies. As they learn about past broken relationships & vengeful rivalries stemming from the Silver Millennium they begin to realize the Seeds of War have not fallen far from the Tree.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: Discord Begins**

* * *

"Serena, you know I'm not going anywhere."

"Your not?" Serena looked nervously to Darien. The idea had been hanging over her head that he would return again oversees to study ever since Luna had, in brutal truthfulness pointed this fact out.

"No, after all that I think overseas schooling is…. Really not for me." Darien looked at his pile of books. After what had happened with Galaxia it just seemed best to say in Tokyo for now. "I think I'll study local for now. I'm sure more opportunities will arise. I think I'll have my hands full for a while." He sighed.

"But I don't want you to stay just for me…well I do, but-" Serena twiddled her hair between her fingers. She was being selfish, but she couldn't help it.

"No, no. I mean I want to stay with you, but I think that – well travel is a little out of the question for a while."

Serena nodded. She understood. His last attempt to travel had ended in Galaxia's snatching of his star seed. She liked it better when he was home, safe with her. "Well I'm happy I get to spend more time with you."

"Me too." Darien smiled at her. "Hopefully a little peace for a while. Even if I do have…all that reading to do to make up for the courses I missed..."

Serena, ignorant to his subtle hints towards the work he had to get done, nuzzled herself in his shoulder. Darien was home. The scouts were back. Galaxia was gone. At least for a while she could be happy in this bliss.

* * *

_"Sedna…" She stood before her thrown, as she watched the pale blue haired woman emerge from the shadows._

_"Yes?" Sedna asked, nodding her head to their appointed leader._

_She turned and looked beyond Sedna. "Varune I can see you there."_

_"I'll handle this first one Varune. The second one we'll go together?" Sedna said over her shoulder to the man in the shadows._

_"If that's what you want." Varune nodded his head and disappeared._

_"Sedna, Take the first seed of Darkness into the Earth. Turn them against each other and let these reborn Sehshi of the planets fail to protect them. Let them know of our presence."_

_"Which one is it?" Sedna looked to the collection of red seeds, glowing with a dark aura. _

_"'Toil. A good start. A good opener. Awaken the people of the Earth to their own inner demonic potential. Then they'll come out, for a fight, and we'll give them it. Introduce the Guardian Senshi to their past. I'm sure it was a past they, as the darling and protected generation, were shielded from and we'll open their eyes to the chaos they've caused us to entice. Awaken your powers of the deepest and darkest waters and do this successfully Sedna._"

_"Of course. As a fellow rejected sister of the planets, I'll make good use of this my leader." She bowed, Seed in hand._

"_I know you will. I know you will._

_She watched Sedna go. She knew well that Varune would watch out for Sedna, should the Senshi be troublesome on their first mission. Senda and the others worked under her because purely her powers were the most fearful of all. Her powers of chaos and war were mostly the reason she had been rejected from the inner circle; protecting a pathetic Silver Empire, along with the others. Over looked, or rejected._

_But now they would overcome them. Darkness would invade and the Kingdom they have protected from Darkness for so long. Their rebirth was meant for a new start upon this Earth. If they wanted to create a new era, A new era of leadership is what they would get._

_She smiled as she looked to her hand, holding a single golden fruit._

_Now, Discord would ensue._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: Toil n'Trouble**

"So what do we do now Luna?"

"Finish up with your education. You girls have one more year of high school." Artemis bumped in.

"Some of you also have promising futures. We'll let the course run itself, when the time comes, and I'm certain we'll know when the new Millennium will arise and Serena and Darien-" Luna lectured.

Serena's eyes gleamed. "We'll get married!"

"Apparently she missed the fact that only _some _of us have academically promising futures." Rei remarked to Ami who knew already she had a good chance of becoming a doctor.

"REI!" Serena growled.

"Now, now Serena, just because you might not be the smartest, or most athletic, or most talented…or –" The scouts waited for Luna to finish, although they'd been already redeemed within their own niche. "-you will have to run an empire in the future as you've seen."

"You scouts must remember, there are many people out there that will be tempted by dark forces. We can't ever be truly sure that the universe is always safe." Artemis reminded.

"So our jobs as scouts will always stand." Lita leaned back.

"I don't know if I mind. It'd be weird if we weren't." Mina shrugged.

"I just hope it doesn't get in the way of us having our own lives…at least a bit." Raye thought out loud.

"I agree. I hope we can find a good balance." Amy nodded.

"For your girls sake, I hope you guys get a break. Balance it out a bit." Artemis spoke words they all thought.

They nodded together in agreement.

* * *

Sedna walked along the streets of Tokyo. Her short pale blue curly hair flounced around her like a classical movie star's bob, in a black dress and a pale blue fur shall that wrapped around her. Her eyes looked from beneath a dark pair of sunglasses.

"These humans really do take the word hard work to a new level, it should be hard to find someone to plant this Seed. Queen Darling of Discord was right, Earth humans are full of chaos and strife." She looked at her reflection in a shop window. "As a woman I do feel a bit of a rival towards her, but … she really does have the cake when it comes to the most power." She fixed her lipstick before turning the corner, as she heard an argument between a road worker and another who seemed to be his boss.

_"But Sir, I've worked far past the hours I'm supposed to. My shift should have ended-"_

_"Well Dai-my goodman, I'm sure you have but the roads don't fix themselves. And neither do the bricks stack."_

She looked. "Dai" was a large man, far larger than his boss, but it didn't' seem to matter.

_"I have a family. Can't I at least get a pay for-"_

"_Think of it more as a community service."_

_"But they need me at home and I haven't had a decent pay in a while...I still don't have my last ch-"_

_"You got a job Daichi, be happy I don't fire you." His boss patted him on the back and whipped the sweat off his hand on his handkerchief before walking away._

"Dammit." Daichi kicked the nearby wall with force nearly knocking a brick loose. "Damn overworked all the time."

Sedna smiled. He was hostile. He was overworked. This was an easy find. Now…how should she go about this?

She walked over to the large and slightly sluggish man.

"Need a job hun?" Her high pitch voice rang into the air.

"Can't you see I –" He started. "Why?" His eyes slanted at this in curiousity.

"I gotta good boss. Better than that smuck. Follow me darlin' I'll find you something better. You over worked thing, it must be hot and bothered. I'd be downright angry if I was worked to the bone like that? All that _toil…"_

"Mam, uh…well you have it pretty right…so, I guess It can't hurt. What's the job?"

"That's the spirit, now follow me." Sedna turned the corner and let him follow her down the block to where she'd seen the perfect spot.

"What's your name?" Daichi's large build made him an awkward man to discretely move around.

"…Mareen. Mareen Sedna, doll. But that don't matter." She turned down an empty dark ally way.

"What are we doing here?" He asked. "This ain't no work-building?"

"Ah, you caught on." She tore off her shall and in one quick movement, "Mareen" didn't look so innocent. Her bodysuit was a deep blue, with a folded material that held her breasts like a bra in a dull periwinkle blue fanning out, reminiscent of shells, and a skirt kind of like the scouts but with the same rounded folds as her "bra" that dipped low in the back, to reveal its blackish color on the inside. She had a choker and her black boots had fish-nets beneath them. A symbol glowed on her forehead for a minute before disappearing into a faint outline.

"Who-Who are you?"

"Sedna. Rejected and Powerful Planetary goddess of the Deepest and Darkest pits of the Ocean, and you my dear-" Suddenly black water tentacles took his arms and legs and confined him at the flick of her hand.

"Wha-?!"

"I love that trick don't you? I don't even need to call that one out anymore- you'd be surprised how far a bit of dark energy goes. Too many years of practice but now its coming to good use" Sedna smiled deviously almost squealing. "Now, remember all that anguish about your hard work and no play? Good." She pulled out a glowing black seed, small, but largely noticeable enough to see a purple marking on it like a ghostly face. It floated in the palm of her hand.

"Seed of Toil, awaken within this man and sprout in the qualms of his strain and spread this anguish into the world." She pushed it into his chest suddenly. She simply watched as he screamed in terror and pain.

Suddenly the black glow in his chest sprouted black vines that covered his body twisting until what came out didn't look human anymore.

"_PonoPono will spread the Toil. Pono-Pono doesn't like to be overworked."_

"Good boy." She tapped the creature's large muscles. His red skin and high, standing straight up black hair, in a workers vest. Kind of a hulk-ish look she thought. "Now, lets see what kind of toil we can spread to these humans. In the words of our darling leader, "What is life without a little discord" ?"

* * *

"You know, I like the spare time... but what do we do now? I mean now that we don't have school, or a reason to cook a huge lunch...or an enemy, what do we do with all this spare time?" Lita leaned back.

"Uhm we look for a nice hunk of boyfriend that's what." Mina smiled.

"That's right, Serena shouldn't be the only one around here with boyfriend." Rei mentioned.

"I never said I had to be. I can't help it." Serena made a face to Rei. "Do you think it's weird that Michelle doesn't have a boyfriend? She's so pretty."

"I think that they're too focused on their work as scouts. Plus she seems happy with Amara. They seem close, even as cousins." Ami reasoned.

"But you know, I feel bad for Trista. We haven't seen much of her since Rini returned to the future. That's got to be lonely." Rei mentioned. She remembered when she had been lonely in her own psychic ways.

Lita put her hands behind her head. "Yea I know what you mean. But maybe it's their nature. I mean Michelle and Amara do their own thing most of the time. Maybe that's just the way they are."

"Hey, guys have you noticed- uhm the icecream shop is closed." Ami pointed at the door.

"What?"

They looked at the door. Mina peered in. She knocked. "Hello? Hello?"

"Hey isn't that Lizzie?" Rei said pointing at a seat by the widow. They knocked and Lizzie opened the door.

"Hey guys."

"What's going on? Why is it closed?" Serena asked. She felt her stomach growl.

"I'm not sure. I came in for an afternoon shift today. I listened to the message machine and everyone called in saying they were sick of being overworked."

"Overworked?" Ami asked.

"We've been short shifts ever since summer started. People go on vacations. I don't mind the work, but by the time I got here it was closed. I wanted to open but I can't by myself. I've never seen all of our employees not come on the same day before..." Lizzie sighed.

"Speaking of… did you guys actually look down the street?" Lita poked her head out of the window.

"What? Why?" Rei asked.

"It's a ghost town guys. Nobody seems like they're working."

"Either we have a serious disease of Lazy-Serena-Flu, or-"

"Hey that's mean!" Serena looked cross.

"Okay, well we'll go try some other places. Don't over-work yourself either Lizzie!" Mina nodded and they left.

"That's just weird." Lita said.

"Do you think somethings up?" Rei said.

"I hope not we just started the summer, I wanted to go window shopping." Serena complained.

"I wanted to go _boy _window shopping." Mina sighed.

"I hate to say it guys but it really seems like the towns declining." Artemis chimed in.

"Artemis?" Mina turned.

Luna and Artemis where behind them.

"We were just going for a stroll and noticed the same thing. Something's strange is going on." Luna said.

_"AHHHH!"_

"What was that!?" Mina asked.

Luna, who had been standing next to them, suddenly pounced onto a nearby bench. "I'll go check it out girls, but get ready to transform. I feel a dark energy near by."

"So much for no enemies to fight this summer…lets go guys." Lita started, leading them off to the scream.

"Pono, I want you to spread the seeds to everyone you see." Sedna floated above as PonoPono with a familiar ghostly face on his chest, released more dark seeds out at the group of people.

"Hey, you!" Lita proclaimed boldly. "Stop hurting those people!"

"Hah, you think he's hurting people? He's just awakening their inner discord their inner toils - funny how most people prefer to sit around and do nothing? All demons of aggrivation and sloth in these humans!" She giggled, as the people who'd been effected eyes glowed red. Suddenly they were in a crowd of disgruntled people, who happened to be quite happy leaving their task at hand. "Show these petty bold humans what it means to be overworked."

"They look like overworked zombies." Rei backed up. "Do you think that's where everyone went?"

"We should have transformed first." Lita said.

"You think? What'd you yell out like that for?" Mina complained.

Lita shrugged. "Instinct?"

"I haven't heard this much complaining since –" Serena plugged her ears, as the people left their jobs, mad and complaining, red eyed.

"Since you failed your last final?" Rei dug.

"Oh stop. Come on guys we have to find a way out of here." Ami sighed.

"Over here. I see a break in the crowd." Mina said. The group of them ran towards the street's corner building and hid behind it.

"At least they're a little slow...must be tired from all that...ahem working..." Rei said. "You have any idea what this is Luna?"

"Not yet. But Artemis and I will stay close. I'd change now."

"Right."

**_**Scout Crystal Makeup***_**

"Good PonoPono. Most of the downtown is already seeded." Sedna smiled at the chaos. People were really over worked here. Desperate for their own freedom into sloth and laziness. It was a corrupt world beneath all of the glamor wasn't it?

"PonoPono does a good job."

"Yes. Soon PonoPono can rest." Sedna smiled down her arms crossed, watching everything happily. The man was all just meat - even as a kaikodemon he was all brawn little brain.

"You can't rest just yet!"

"Who's that?!" Sedna looked around.

"It's us the Sailor Scouts, Protectors of the Earth." Mars yelled out.

"That's right. It's not fair to take over the city, people work hard for good money." Jupiter proclaimed.

"And people appreciate the hard work. Customers and Workers alike." Venus agreed.

"Just because someone works a lot doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It can help you grow and become stronger and smarter." Mercury nodded.

"And we won't let people like you continue to tare our society apart. In the name of the Moon, We will punish you!" Sailor Moon proclaimed.

"Ah, so the Guardian Sailor Scouts have arrived. I new this moment would come sooner or later. I'm so happy to finally meet you again, like this. After all this time." Sedna smiled.

"Who are you? And why are you doing this?" Venus asked.

"You'll find out soon enough. But all your talk about hard work, lets see if you scouts aren't a little over-worked yourself." Senda smiled. "Pono, make them work a little."

_"Brick-Layer-Smash!_"

The scouts parted in different directions as a huge black brick nearly dropped onto them.

"Guess he doesn't just release those seeds from his chest." Jupiter looked at the hulk-like creature.

"But he's definitely not a monster. There is some kind of dark energy spreading inside of him." Mercury scanned Pono.

"Then Serena, you better heal it. Quick." Mars looked to Sailor Moon.

"I can try, but will it even work? I mean look at that thing." Sailor Moon swallowed.

"Oh Serena, you've saved the world a few times now, you can handle a monster." Luna piped in.

"Why not spread the love Pono, I'm sure these scouts must be a little tired of dodging Bricks."

Pono puffed out his chest and the jagged eyes and mouth of the ghost like-face of purple on his chest released more seeds.

"Don't let them get near you guys." Mercury called out.

"AGGGH!"

Sailor Moon opened her eyes to see Mars, Jupiter and Venus on the ground.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Mercury said. "I think they were-"

_"I don't want to scout right now. I'm always at the temple, there's no time for me…"_

_"Why do we always have to do this? We never have time to find boyfriends…"_

_"I never have time anymore…I missed out on the volleyball league this year too and-"_

"Ahahaha, not as well rounded as you thought!" Sedna giggled, her red lips in a sly smile and her eyes darting to the two scouts left. The others found themselves in a trance, no more dangerous than a sleeping baby. "Mercury, I'm glad it wasn't you. It's nice to meet a fellow planetary guardian of water face to face."

"Fellow? You're no Sailor Scout."

"On the contrary, I control the elemental domain of water as well and honestly, there isn't, and never was room for the two of us it seems. It's too bad the other one of you wasn't here, I could finish you guys off myself."

"The other one?" Sailor Moon swallowed. She whispered, "Do you think she knows about Sailor Neptune?"

"Ahaha, you pathetic fools have no clue what's coming. Pono, fix them up good!"

"Let's get rumbling!" His hand suddenly turned into a street drill and he split a large crack in the pavement separating the two scouts, something like an earth quake.

"I don't like this." Sailor Moon complained.

"Actually, It's too bad you two didn't succumb. It could have been easier for all of us." Sedna shrugged casually, as she patted her wavy pale icy blue bob.

"I think hard work develops good work ethic and character. I don't mind working harder, even if you don't get recognition it will come to help in the end." Mercury smiled.

"Honestly, I don't really feel to pressured…" Sailor Moon looked up innocently.

"Oh be serious Serena, you never overwork yourself." Luna rolled her eyes.

_"BRICK-LAYER-SMASH!_"

"Watch out Sailor Moon!" Mercury called out as a large brick formed overtop of her.

"AHH!" Sailor Moon called out.

**WHOOSH**

"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon smiled. "Man, I missed that."

"Didn't know you guys would get in this much trouble going for icecream." He said setting her down next to Mercury.

"I hope you don't feel overworked Tuxedo Mask." Mercury warned.

"Not at all. I'm nearly caught up on my books. It's been a while... I don't mind this stuff either."

"How can we get him to stop dropping bricks?" Sailor Moon asked nervously, feeling a bit off put by her less than academic nature suddenly.

"I think if we can get her away from …the monster, we might be able to confuse him and get her at the same time. I have an idea. Just be ready Sailor Moon." Mercury looked to her.

She nodded. "Sounds good."

"Ah so we've upped the odds, this should be fun." Sedna's eyes caught them in an iron stare.

"Don't underestimate us! _Mercury Bubble Blast!"_

"Ah!" Sedna called out when suddenly they were surrounded by fog. "What the – measely bubbles? They took bubbles over my dark depths of power ? Where are you Pono-"

"Pono-Pono, hates fog!" Pono yelled out trapped in the fog on his own, flapping his arms trying to cause it too receded.

"Over here!" Mercury called out landing close to Sedna, causing Pono to bring his attention to that spot.

"BRICK-LAYER-'

"No! Pono don't!" Senda called out at the last minute, as she noticed the brick forming above her.

Mercury pounced away at the last minute.

"AH!"

**"**_**SEDNA!"**__A new voice called out. _

"Now Sailor Moon!" Mercury landed beside her as Pono got even more confused.

"Mhm." Sailor Moont took out her Eternal Tiare._"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"_

"AGHHH!"

Daichi returned to normal and the fog lifted as the seed left his body. But it darted away instead of disappearing, over near the top of a building.

"Where did it go?" Mercury asked.

"What's going on?" Jupiter asked as they too recovered now that the originating seed had been "de-seeded".

"Oh you guys were just a little overworked…" Sailor Moon smiled cheesily.

"Where did that evil woman go?" Venus asked.

"She didn't get hit by that brick …" Mercury noticed the dent in the pavement.

"Over here you petty fools." A bitter voice said.

They looked up. The pale blue haired woman was beside a slightly taller man, with black long hair with pale blue tips somewhat reminiscent of Malachite's, looking condescendingly down at them with his deep aqua-pale eyes. He had what looked like the skulls of a strange sea-creature on his shoulders as protection, wearing a dull blue-green open vest and black slouch pants and sandals. His staff had a full skull on the end of it with horns which in between an orb of blue rested.

"Who are you guys?" Mars asked.

"Apparently Sailor Moon's not the only one whose got someone to come to her rescue." Venus teased.

"Should we tell them?" Varune looked to Sedna.

"They probably don't even know. Lets give them a little introduction for the pure fun of it." Sedna looked narrowly at them. "My name is Sedna of the Oceans Deep. This is Varune, holding power over the Creatures of the Celestial Ocean. Our goal is nothing less than to come here to create a little conflict and disharmony in your little world."

"How come the Seed-thing, didn't get destroyed?" Sailor Moon asked, questioning her own powers.

"The Discord Seed of Toil isn't that easy to get rid of. In sloth or in exhaustion there are always people who suffer in the sins of this world. Discord is natural. Darkness is just as present in the world as Light. You'll find that everything you worked for, all this peace it can't exist on it's own. Chaos comes naturally." Varune said in a cool deep voice.

"You may not know what is going on, but I'm sure that kind of negligence comes natural to your type. The reason these seeds were born were from the recklessness of a long past war you set in motion, so good luck now." Sedna said with a smirk.

"_Our type?_Who are you two to talk! You guys nearly turned everyone into over-worked zombies!" Jupiter threatened.

"Don't speak so soon. You don't have such a clean slate yourself. See you next time. Don't expect it to go this smooth either." Varune warned before the two disappeared.

"What's going on guys? Who are they…" Mina said as they left.

"Scouts." Artemis said.

Tuxedo Mask and the Scouts looked back towards Artemis and Luna.

"I'm afraid we need to have a scout meeting, stat."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: Revelations**

"What was that about?" Rei asked leaning back agains the cushions at their temple meet.

"Those two are beyond creepy, I mean did you hear how they made us seem like we were clueless of something?" Mina added.

"And the girl one, Sedna I think, she seemed to know who I was, and possibly Sailor Neptune." Ami added.

"I wonder if we should tell Neptune and Uranus about all this then…It might be better to have them around next time they strike." Lita wondered.

"I don't like how I couldn't get rid of that seed-thing." Serena looked a little disappointed.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much Serena, you still saved everyone from the zombie- seedlings and that construction worker from being a monster." Darien piped in.

"So Luna, what exactly did you want to tell us in this meeting?" Rei asked.

"Girls, I'm afraid we might know who those two are."

"Why do you say it like that Luna?" Ami asked.

"Because, those two, although none of you may have known them well yourselves in your past life, are …well are Planetary Sailor Scouts as well." Artemis explained.

"But how? I thought Pluto was the last planet?" Mina asked.

"Actually there are various other, smaller planets in the solar system unrecognized by the Earth culture as true "planets'." Ami explained.

"Ami is right. There are many Sailor Scouts that exist in the universe. Some of them we've never met." Artemis explained. "Other planets in our vast solar system also are Sailor Scouts, but not always in the same sense that you guys are used to."

"Sedna and Varune are similar to the names of two of the smaller planets in our galaxy. Their names like your own planetary titles have been passed on." Luna explained.

"What bothers me is why they've come back and are fighting against us…"Artemis wondered.

"Are there others like them?" Lita asked.

"They're very well might be. But we can't be sure if there's something else at work here…until we gather more information…" Luna asked.

"How come they don't look like us transformed…or work with us?" Mina asked.

"Not all Sailor Scouts are soldiers vowed to protect the Silver Crystal and the Moon Kingdom. Theirs a large amount of –process that goes into that I'm afraid." Artemis looked warily to Luna. "Galaxia took advantage of that for her own recruits."

"I don't understand why they weren't re-born on Earth with everyone else either…." Darien inquired.

"Not all people of the universe were stricken by that war. If they weren't at the Moon during that time there's a good chance they could have survived. Most people were asked to support the fight, but it wasnt mandatory. You scouts were the Guardian Senshi of the Moon and the Silver Crystal. It makes sense for all of you to be reborn. We don't know much about the situation ourselves, but I think there's something they know that we don't from the past. Somethings haven't returned to us in our own rebirth. Until then, we need to make sure they don't infect the people with those Dark Seeds. Hopefully next time we can stop them from spreading…"

"It's strange to think that. But your're right, when Galaxia fought us we did meet more Scouts…" Serena recalled.

"Plus people like Allan and Ann came from a different planet too right? They weren't scouts but we don't know much about whats out there do we." Lita added.

"According to my knowledge there's at the most 10 other masses possibly recognized planets that might have their own guardian, to our own knowledge on Earth…do you think we've made 10 more enemies somehow?" Ami asked.

"Unless they reveal themselves and why their doing this, I'm afraid we'll just have to keep fighting." Luna sighed.

"It couldn't hurt to get our hands on a Seed so we can figure out what they are exactly." Artemis added. "I think it's time we talked to the other scouts too. At least two more hands on the wheel might really help us get down to the bottom of it."

"What about my powers? Is there anything else I can do …" Serena played with the end of her hair.

"I don't know. It might take a little more than your Scepter this time Serena. We're going against our own here. It might be a job for the Silver Crystal, but we'll know more when the time comes."

Serena felt Darien's hand link into hers. At least this time she had everyone she needed with her for support.

* * *

"I don't like them. They have no clue what even happened in the past. The sheltered brats." Sedna seemed much less put together. "We didn't spread the Seed as much as I'd hoped to."

"Relax." Varune put his hand on her back. "We'll get another chance. I think next time…we need to be more…discrete. If we want the seeds to spread like-"

_"Like I want? I really hope this is all a mutual decision-"_

"Of course it is." Varune bowed to the shadowed Woman.

" Are you going to give us another chance?" Sedna said.

"Yes. I think it's good that they know where here. But Varone is right; we must now inflict the world with these seeds of strife. Let the next Kakoi demon which emerges emerge slow. Make sure this one lasts longer, otherwise, I'm quite sure Ixion is eager to take your place in spreading the seeds."

The pair turned, and saw Ixion in the shadows. His deep gold eyes through his reddish-dark brown wavy locks that hit past his eyes. "I only hope to explore the Earth and exploit it's treasures and release it's evils. But for now, I take it the pair of you have it under control?" Ixion turned and left.

"Exploit its treasures?" Sedna raised a brow at the metaphorical duality of his words. She knew of Ixion's ways, let alone his history with the planets.

"We'll take it from here." Varone seemingly ignored Ixion speaking to the shadow.

"Then here's the next Seed. We'll leave Toil for now." They watched as from the apple which pulsated a dark energy, Toil was returned. "Now, let's see what fun we can have in spreading a bit of Amnesia throughout the world? It's bound to bring some good old fashion Chaos don't you think?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3: Summer Studies**

"So where do you want to find the next one to seed this Seedling in?" Sedna looked over the town from above.

"It is difficult. Any old man or women would likely forget their own location if we asked." Varune scanned the town.

"Which is no good. We need someone who can withstand the Imperial Scouts if they interfere again." Sedna shook her head.

"Someone young with vitality. I have an idea. Why don't you leave this one to me?" Varune said.

"Your starting to sound like Ixion you know." She crossed her arms and raised her brow.

"You know I don't approve of his antics…or his taste. But believe me Sedna, I'm only doing this for us. Plus, what fun could a petty human be anyway?"

"Oh, doll nothing compared to me. I'll keep an eye out for the Sailor Scout pack. Ta-ta."

Varune looked around. He'd have to find a prime place to find just the right type for this one.

* * *

"So you're telling me, you still study even though its Summer Ami? I mean we're going on our last year of high school. We're almost done!" Mina asked.

"I can't help it. Next year our finals will determine if we can get into a University. Plus there's cram schools and summer school classes I could take to get ahead." Ami said putting her book back into her purse as they sat out on the outdoor chairs outside the diner. "You'd be surprised how much you forget. Even now looking over some of this stuff, I –"

"I don't know how you do it." Rei had been overlooking it. "That's advanced. Like University advanced. You're way ahead."

"I just wish I had Greg's memory." Ami sighed before blushing.

"Ah so she doesn't _just_ think about school." Lita teased.

"I'm just happy the diner opened back up." Serena gleamed at her ice cream.

"You really only need the simple things don't you Serena?" Rei said leaning back in her chair as the sun glistened down.

"Hey what was that supposed to mean!?" Serena asked.

"Actually Serena, maybe we should take a summer class… I mean even if it's in our own things…" Mina got to thinking.

"Yea I'd totally take a business management class!" Rei sad.

"Really?" Lita asked.

"Well… I'll have to take over the temple… plus I'm not a bad singer you know, who knows where it'll take me." Rei acted modest.

"Actually that sounds good. Owning my own bakery would be awesome." Lita nodded.

"I'm thinking Acting…do you think they have anything like that?" Mina asked.

"We can only try? I can't remember the classes...at least not all of them. I only looked at the ones that I'd take…."

They all swallowed.

"… Advanced Biology, Chemistry and maybe a Mathamatics or Algebra and-"

"Oh please, you guys can't be serious?" Serena complained.

"What now?" Rei asked.

"It's the summer. We're supposed to forget the rotten school stuff and just relax."

"Oh come on Serena isn't there anything you'd want to do?" Mina asked.

"…Actually that's a good point Mina…" Serena thought.

"Really?" Mina was surprised.

"Yep!" Serena stood up. "The thing I want to do most is spend time with Darien. I mean he is my future right? Actually I'm going to go to his place right now and see what he's up to."

The girls all fell over at once, astonished by Serena's single mindedness.

"Typical Serena isn't it?" Rei retorted.

"Hey, its part of her charm I think." Lita said. "Anyway, lets book it. I want to check them out. Because one way or another I want to open a bakery."

They nodded and walked towards their school.

"Hmm…I don't see a strictly Acting class." Mina looked at the list by the front bulletin board.

"And the business here…it's grouped with statistics classes…" Rei said. "You know maybe …maybe I can run the temple without a class…I've been doing it for this long. Hell I know it like the back of my hand."

"Yea, I could just go at home and practice cooking. Memorize some of my best recipes and a few new ones maybe." Lita shrugged.

"These classes all interfere with the times that I'm supposed to volunteer at the hospital…" Ami bit her lip.

"Well maybe hands on experience is best?" Mina asked.

"Yea Ami, don't fret you're smarter then all of us." Lita nodded.

"I guess I'll just have to read the textbooks on my spare time." Ami nodded.

"OUT OF THE WAY PLEASE!"

They turned to see a girl running at them. She had long brown hair in a large braid of curls, and she stumbled around the corner. Her wide violet eyes looked airy and pale. She kind of reminded them of the way Serena ran to school every morning.

"Woah, sorry, don't mean to get in your way." Rei said as they parted.

"Sorry I'm late for class! I'm so stupid!" She ran up the steps and throught he doors.

"Must be a junior." Mina said.

"Hey look she dropped this." Lita leaned over and grabbed a notebook that said _Mimzy A. Kimoni _ on the front.

"I wonder what summer class she's taking?" Ami asked.

Lita opened the notebook.  
"Well the title on the first page looks like it has a course for a summer catch-up class written in it."

"What does the book say?' Mina asked.

"Its just an agenda. And between the doodles and dates, I'd say there isn't a thing this girl doesn't write down." Lita said wide eyed.

"Serena needs one of those." Rei said lowly. "Actually, we should return it to her."

"Yea but then she'll know we investigated her notebook." Ami said.

"Oh well it was what we had to do to return it." Mina said.

"Well we can't now. The classes are starting. We'll have to give it to her tonight, when the classes end." Rei pointed to the clock.

"Oh yea, maybe we should catch up with Serena. I mean who says she gets to spend her whole summer alone with Darien?" Mina teased.

"Still we didn't shop at all yesterday…" Lita leaned back. "I could really use some new cooking-"

"Say no more. We'll meet up with Serena later. Lets spend a day off relaxing. Who knows when the next attack will be anyway." Rei said.

"You know, I like the way you guys are thinking today. " Mina smiled as the four walked off towards downtown.

* * *

Varune walked down the street. People seemed forgetful…but nobody stood out. He needed someone who he could let the Seed really grow in, but someone who was within a large group, someone-

He stopped. He'd really gone to the wrong area. The School District? He looked at the large building. A High School. Summer was the season the humans forgot what they learned and left to have reckless fun. All the same, anyone here wouldn't be forgetful. They'd be learning to memorize things if anything. He turned to walk away when he heard the sound of worried cries.

"Oh I know I must have dropped it out here. I only have…5 minutes left? Or did the break end at 1:20? I don't remember, I need to pay more attention, but now I can't even remember where I dropped my book! Oh did I forget it at home or-"

Varune turned to see a girl with long brown hair and large pale violet eyes. She had a flower clip in her hair, and a focused stare on the ground.

"Excuse me Miss are you looking for something?"

Mimzy looked up to see an older handsome looking man, with dark black hair. He was wearing a dark grey button down and black slacks. His eyes were a strange color blue, not pale, but not dull.

"I-I- I lost my agenda. It was just a matter of time really…you see I'm always daydreaming and I never really remember where I put things…that's why I'm at the school now, I messed up some grades because of it and need to catch up. But I know I left it out here, without it, I don't know what I'd do-"

"We're all a little forgetful at times." He said smoothly in a monotone voice. "I'll keep an eye out for it, but you know if you put a string on your finger and remember exactly the one thing you think you might forget…"

"…I might remember it. I need tricks like that! I'm sorry I rambled so much. I always forget that I'm talking to a stranger…."

Varune smiled at her. She was perfect. "Tell me, you're in a class with other people who failed too?"

"Yes, I'm not the only one. But some of them just didn't show up. That's a totally different thing."

"I see. But some probably are like you."

"Yes, which I guess should make me feel better."

"Well," Varune put his hand behind his back and the Seed appeared. "If you're going to remember one thing, this should be it…"

Mimzy turned towards him, when Varune pushed the Seed at the her and hit her on the left side of her chest. Before she could comepletely turn into a monster Varune took his chance to finish

"_Don't come out until I call upon you, I want you to spread you're the Seeds of Forgetfulness in this pathetic human form…got that Lethe?"_

Mimzy's eyes glowed red before they glossed over blank. "Sound good Master Varune."

"Good. Now be a good Kakoi and show these Humans how much potential they have for destructive forces like yourself?"

Mimzy left back to class and Varone smiled. He transformed back to his real form and found Sedna, above on a nearby roof.

"So charming a little high-schooler was your plan?"

"I can see Ixion's methods. It's quite easy I'd say. Either way she's a completely forgetful and absent person. Lethe can spread it easily. All the forgetful students will be easily under her control. Disguised in that human theres no reason it can't be spread."

"Good, now we'll sit and wait. If those five little angels come around, we'll make sure to keep them out of our way."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: Forget-Me-Not**

"So you dragged me outside because-"

"Because it's a nice day out Darien! Don't you want to enjoy the summer weather?" Serena clutched his arm, as they walked out from his apartment.

"I guess so. It's just now that I'm caught up on my reading, I'm wondering if I-"

"If you what?" Serena turned to him with bright eyes.

"Well…" Darien swallowed. "If I should go to the University early and take some classes. I missed out on the opportunity to study in the U.S so I want to see what I can learn here that is a bit more broad..."

"...And leave me again…why does everyone want to get back to school now? It's like nobody wants to hang out with me or spend time and-"

"Don't take it personally Serena, I'm down a full year for my University classes. I want to study the histories of other places, politics, and things. There's just so much, and honestly I want to get it done, so I can be with you Serena. We know how the future turns out to a point, I just want to be prepared."

"I understand."

"Plus, this was a long running thought until yesterday." He stretched. "If we do have a new enemy, I mean maybe it's best if I wait, I'm not sure. It might be too distracting."

"I hope their not going to bug us too much." Serena sighed. "I'd really hoped we'd be done with all of it for a while."

"Tell me about it. That last one was a doozy." Darien nodded. "But we have today so what do you want to do?"

"Uhm…well we could go for a romantic stroll in the park…or maybe the swan boats, you know you went on the lake with Rei and not me or…"

"Hey Serena!"

Serena looked up to see Lita, Mina, Rei and Ami, carrying shopping bags.

"What are you guys up to?" Darien asked.

"Oh just a little summer-starter-shopping!" Mina said gleaming.

"Even you Ami? I thought you were going to register for classes?"

"It didn't work out as we'd hoped. I just bought another biology book and –"

"And we almost forgot but we still have that girl's planner!" Rei added."We have to head back, want to come with? Theres a girl that's kind of like you…"

"Like me?" Serena asked.

"Well she's forgetful…in the sense that she was late to class…" Lita added.

"And she forgot her notebook…" Mina added

"And failed… a class. Didn't seem like she'd remember much." Rei finished.

"I didn't fail!" Serena protested.

"I wanted to ask her if she needed a tutor." Ami added.

"That sounds nice of you Ami. We should go then." Darien added.

Serena sighed. "It's true she probably needs it, but then can we do something?"

Darien smiled. "Sure."

They left for the High School to find that the classes were leaving.

_"Hey did you hear?"_

"_What?"_

_"That catch-up class? The students all failed a test, some of them didn't even write their name-"_

_"Really?"_

_"Yea apparently the teacher said that they all just stood there as if they'd forgotten they were at school, and then maimed about and left."_

"Did you hear that?" Lita asked.

"Strange." Mina said. "Guess you're not the worst of em Serena."

"Hey look there she is." Ami nodded ahead.

Mimzy walked out, her books against her chest, and eyes lidded, past them as if they weren't there.

"Did she just, like, snob us out?" Lita asked.

"No way, she was a total scatter brain before." Rei persisted. "And I don't know what that was about, but I got bad vibes from her."

"We should follow her and give it back." Mina concluded. "Maybe that evil duo hit the area today."

"It's a good guess." Darien added looking to Serena.

"Let's help her. I'd hate to be in Summer school, so for her sake, lets do this." Serena nodded.

They left and followed her to the park where she stopped suddenly.

"I can hear you following me." She said.

"Mimzy? We wanted to return your agenda? You walked right past us you know." Lita held it out.

"We figured you'd need it." Rei said.

She turned to them. "I don't need it anymore, there's only one thing I need to remember." She held up her finger with a red bow on it.

"What's that?" Mina asked.

"Bad vibes guys. Bad vibes." Rei whispered.

"To spread the Seeds of Forgetfulness!" She pulled at her shirt down by her neck, where the mark of the seed showed the black face like an evil ghost just above her left breastbone.

"The seeds! Duck guys!" Darien said. They all hit the ground at once as they flew past them. They stood up. They couldn't transform incase Mimzy was in there somewhere. They couldn't expose their identities.

"That's not fair. I must do what I said I'd do, it's the only thing I can remember." Mimzy lept onto a nearby bench and held her finger in the air with the bow. "Remember, Remember, Remember to spread the seeds, Lethe will help you forget all else!"

The red bow suddenly turned into five ribbons that spun out from the bow's strings and tied around the girl's and Darien's neck.

"Aghh I can't breathe!" Lita yelled out, grasping at the red ribbon.

Mina noticed her eyes weren't normal they were red. "Don't you remember us! We have your agenda! You can remember all you need to now!" She said as they all fell to their knees out of breath.

"Can't say the same for you! If you have the strong potential to forget then you are subject to sin! Discord Discord, who will it be, which string will be the first to forget me!?" Lethe sung out plucking each chord, until she landed on Serena's strand.

"Don't!" Darien called out coughing.

"Can't play Romeo when the Julliet doesn't remember you!" Lethe grinned maliciously. She revealed the mark and a seed spun out at Serena.

"AHHHHAHHHH!" Serena yelled as it hit her in the chest and like a spark disappeared.

Varune and Sedna came over calling for her from a branch above. "Let's go Lethe. Ignore these petty humans, and lets spread more."

Serena collapsed as the others came over.

"Serena!" Darien took her and shook her gently.

"Why are we here?" She asked, her eyes glossed over.

Rei sighed. "We just found out Mimzy was taken over by those evil scout guys."

"What's a scout? Mimzy?" Serena tilted her head.

"This isn't happening!" Mina exclaimed.

"Do you know who you are?" Ami asked.

"I'm Serena." She said.

"So she remembers some. This is her one fault isn't it." Lita bit her lip.

"Well she never remembers scout meetings." Rei added.

"But who else are you?" Darien asked.

"Serena."

He sighed.

"What were you trying to do Darien?" Mina asked.

"I think it may get gradually worse. But if it's not going to get better we have a problem if that seed is making her forget things."

"What?"

"She doesn't remember that she's Sailor Moon."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Memories Fade, Memories Anew**

"What can we do? She doesn't even know what's going on…" Lita looked at Serena who was in a bed at Darien's apartment.

"She's completely forgotten being a Sailor Scout…where she lives…what grade she's in…" Mina said looked worried.

"How will she react now that she's forgetting who we are too…?" Rei asked.

"Well…considering how she's acting it seems the more she forgets the more she seems to be sinking back into her own mind." Ami said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you forget most of what you know, the only thing you have left is yourself. It's like a rapid case of Amnesia. The older people at the hospital often grow silent and gone, as if all they know is their own mind. They can't remember… I think that's where the demon of Forgetfulness is most potent." Ami reluctantly admitted.

"So she's acting like a newborn would…observant but not aware of what's going on, because she can't remember what she knew." Lita speculated.

I get the feeling she has forgotten, us…we're taking too long…" Darien said with grief. He recalled the moment Serena couldn't remember him about an hour ago. He tried to get her to wake up but she stared around and asked whom he was. The Seed turns them into passive zombies of an amnesic mind. Maybe that's how she felt when his memory had been erased. Serena was always a little childish, but she had matured. He never thought her forgetful nature, at least when it came to school and sometimes-simple memory in that sense, would be her downfall. They needed a way out of this. "And the worst part is…she's going to forget everything. We can't even heal her because she's the only one that can stop that new Demon." Darien looked stressed, as his gaze moved to Serena who just lay wide blank eyed on the bed.

"Darien's right. Serena's going to keep moving into this dark hole in her mind that's just sucking information in…we need to reverse the Seeds effects to see if we can find a way to get it out." Rei looked cross.

"So we need to help her remember something. Something that would trigger all her memories back." Mina said. "Something powerful."

"Well Serena likes food…and she-" Mars bit her lip. "What if we got Luna to talk to her? Luna started it all."

"We can try. But I see what Mina is saying; something has to jar her memory. Something that runs back possibly farther than Luna." Ami bit her lip.

"Hey, hate to barge in on the party but the cat's got our tail."

They turned to see Amara and Michelle at the door.

"What's wrong? Artemis told us about the sightings of those Fallen Scouts…" Michelle said.

"Serena got seeded by one of them. She's slowly forgetting everything and she's the only one who can heal the girl who has the Demon that reverses it." Mina said.

"Well if there's one thing we can try, would be to use our scout powers to try to awaken her…" Amara looked a little thrown off.

"We can do that?" Rei asked.

"With Darien present in the circle, it might work. His Earth healing powers could help." Artemis nodded.

"If you girls use your powers you might be able to draw Sailor Moon's powers out. Maybe that would stop the dark powers from working." Luna said.

"It's worth a shot." Lita nodded.

They took a circle around Serena.

"This feels so …ritualistic." Rei admitted.

"Well Luna's here but unless we find a really good jarring memory…" Lita admitted.

"Alright…Lets do this." Darien finally piped in. The girls nodded. They each announced their planet, as their symbol appeared on their forehead, hands together around them. The room lit up and suddenly their forces seemed to pull upwards as a black light appeared in Serena's chest at the same time her Moon symbol appeared. It glowed against their own pull but suddenly it retreated as they stopped.

"It didn't work." Mina said stunned.

"I'd really hoped that would counter the –" Amara began.

"She needs the power of her scepter or the crystal…I don't know what else to do…" Michelle looked down on their Moon Princess.

"It's a seed. It really has seeded the discord of forgetfulness in her." Ami looked defeated. "And look she's not even blinking anymore."

"She's become a full fledged Seed-zombie." Rei said defeated.

"I'm going to kick those Seed-Spreader's butts for doing this to her." Lita said peeved.

"I can't allow this. Serena woke me up out of every dilemma I was in. Even when I was brainwashed she found away to get me back. I can't just give up." Darien's fist hit the bed.

Luna looked to Darien. "I don't think it's me that can awaken this blank look from her Darien. I think you need to consider what exactly about Serena's nature brought everyone back…what she did."

"Your right." Darien swallowed.

"Actually give me a minute, and before this gets any worse I have an idea." Luna said and hoped onto the balcony window. "I'll be right back."

They looked at Serena.

"So these two new enemies…they're sending out black seeds that turn people to sins?" Michelle asked.

"Almost. They seem to have one main Seed of a certain instigator of what they call "discord". That spreads out seedlings through its host. We haven't been able to see them closely because last time it returned the one of them called "Sedna"." Ami explained.

"Yea, and don't forget, Serena can heal the person but she can't destroy the seed."

"They really are darkened Scouts aren't they…" Amara speculated looking at Serena.

"Why do you say that?" Mina asked.

"Because, even against Galaxia, we saw that our powers become slightly more equalized against other scouts. If these guys are from Planets, that means their more powerful then the minor Sailors Galaxia controlled. If they're not with us it means their less powerful. But it seems that might have changed; dark energy seems to amplify powers we've never seen present. They also managed to hide in plain sight. This means there's a lot more going on here." Amara explained. Michelle nodded.

"But don't forget," Artemis started. "That same one named Sedna, she seemed to know Mercury and possibly Neptune's powers. I have a feeling their powers are derived from the same element."

"You're saying there's more of us that control water?" Michelle asked.

"Each Planet doesn't have an element, but an area within a specific category to reign." Artemis explained. "Mercury's is a combination of water, but more in the sense of its extensions; bubbles, ice, blasting. Neptune's is more of the sea itself, and the force of water, and considering her mirror it's reflective qualities."

"It's all so complex." Mina commented.

"It's also why the Moon was chosen as the center of the Guardian Scoutdom. Their powers are elite to purity, and as Moons exist, stand out the most within each planetary sky. Many Planets have Moon's so they are also strong in numbers. The Earth's Moon was the home planet of the Moons, but most of your own planets have orbiting Moons where a guardian was chosen to protect, and aid the Planets. These people were often from the Moon or gifted with different abilities at birth." Artemis explained.

"How come we've never heard this before?" Rei asked. "Because Phobos and Demos are Ravens aren't they?"

"Not all Guardians were human, just like Luna and I are not. The Planet's Leader chooses a Guardian. This is part of the way the government was back then. The Imperial Silver Millennium was a lifestyle that had been present for many years. The Earth's people have the shortest life span now, although that wasn't always true. The evils that are present now, weren't present then." Artemis sighed. "The more we remember, the more we realize times have changed. Most of the lifestyle then cannot apply now. We do believe that the core of the way things worked then was ideal, and so we knew one day the Guardian Scouts would have to be awoken. We've never come across anyone from the past like that yet, but we also wouldn't know how to awaken them like you scouts."

"And the worst part is, people who seem to have a grudge from something that happened a long time ago are outdoing us. If they were around we could use the help…or maybe they have something to do with this too." Amara pointed out.

They looked silently to Darien sitting on the edge of Serena's bed. He didn't speak. They'd already tried to talk to her. It always ended in questions. She was one of the zombies that they'd seen passing by to Darien's place; gone, and ignorant of much of anything.

Suddenly they heard Luna at the window sill.

"What did you get Luna?" Artemis asked.

They looked as she placed something beside Darien on the bed. "I remember vividly how passionate Serena was about this after you never returned and remembered. Beryl took you from her and she listened to this nightly. I think this item is a relic that might help run deepest in her heart and mind Darien." She moved it closer to him with her paw.

Darien looked at it. He'd never even thought of it, and Luna was right, it was the one thing that brought him back, and the one thing that they could remember their past by.

The Star Locket.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Lights Will Guide You Home**

Darien took the Locket. He opened it.

He remembered the first time he'd seen it. He'd found it in his jacket pocket the first time he'd turned into Tuxedo Mask. It had reminded him of the Princess. Even more so when Peggy Jones had solidified that in her painting, and now, even more ironic knowing what he knew now, that they'd both been chosen as models for Peggy's concepts, which where closely linked to their own past…

and then by giving it to Sailor Moon that same day he'd accidentally returned it to the one girl who'd gave it to him long ago.

He held it in his hand. "Serena, don't you remember this? You have to remember…" He slipped it into hers. Her eyes looked empty at the object.

The melody filled the room in a soothing air.

"_Remember Serena, Please remember…"_

_..._

_She looked around. All she saw was darkness. Where was she? She looked to her hands? Why was she here? Where was here? What was going on? _

_She looked down and for a moment saw her reflection as if the blackness had become liquid._

_Who was…she? Her face. It moved as she moved. _

_Something was missing._

_Something._

_Suddenly she could hear the faint sound, like twinkling lights._

_Yes, twinkling lights, up in the sky. Glowing stronger to the melody. On and off._

_The melody was drawing her in._ _A kind of celestial melody... _

_Faint. Delicate. Stars. _

_She walked forward._

_The louder the melody became the more stars she saw above her._

_The stars seemed familiar. She walked straight and suddenly people surrounded her._

_People without faces. People she didn't know._

_And yet the sky went on for days, just outside…_

_Outside a building…but what building? Its large arches moved past as she walked forward, the sky still twinkling._

_What was this? Why was it drawing her in?_

_She found herself in the middle of the room. Around her people were dancing. In a rush. A dizzy rush. Pairs._

_Why didn't she have a pair too? Or was she someone who was meant to be alone?_

_She was about to turn back towards the twinkling stars when a man, a man with a blank black face, like all the others as if it'd been cut out, took her in for a dance. He had a black …jacket and pants….a white shirt… black hair…_

_She heard her own lips began to hum with the tune._

_So that's what her voice sounded like._

_Around he spun her, with all the people. She spun past a group of seven, seven girls possibly or more? Their outfits all different colors. Short Skirts, different shades of hair, bows….but blank faces._

_They all rushed by each time, faster and faster until she closed her eyes to find herself spinning out into the starlight, by the arches…a balcony maybe?_

_Where was she?_

_Where had the stars led her? Her partner was gone._

_She looked to her left._

_A girl. A girl with blonde hair, long ponytales, in a white gown was holding a golden…a golden…something. A star? No a trinket? And there beside her was the same man who had just spun her into this scene. Faceless. Everyone._

_The melody was suddenly as loud as she'd ever heard it._

_"And this…this is something to remember us by. For ever and for always. In case something happens. Until we meet again. I couldn't bare it-"_

_"Nothing will happen. I will make sure of it." He looked at the trinket._

_"For now this moment is ours."_

_She listened. The girl's voice. It sounded like the voice she'd made when she was humming. She shook her head, and saw a glimpse of her own hair. Blonde. In two pigtails…she took her hands to her head. Odangos. Was she? Was she this girl? She closed her eyes and saw a ghostly face for a moment. Slated red eyes and a jagged mouth. She opened them to the scene again. She turned to look away._

_She was seeing two lovers and yet she didn't feel like she was spying…it all seemed so familiar..._

_She closed her eyes again. But she couldn't be that girl… She was standing here…next to them…_

_She was alone…_

_Her partner must have someone like her instead._

_She felt two arms around her._

_She looked up to see the Tuxedoed man embracing her._

_"Our moment is forever my Serenity, no matter what."_

_She blinked._

_She was that girl. _

_She was in that gown.  
_

_The stars seemed so close._

_Serenity._

_Serenity._

_Serenity._

_The Melody was close. Beside her in his hand, around her grasped tight. She looked. She knew him. His face-_

_Blue eyes. Warm._

_Stoic. Strong. Reassuring._

_Like a Prince. Her Prince._

_She felt his lips on hers. She closed her eyes._

_ Prince. Masked. _Darien.__

__She replayed this vision in her mind. Flashes. __

_Those girls, in the color._

_The faces. Her friends. Rei. Mars. Leta. Jupiter. Ami. Mercury. Mina. Venus. Michelle. Neptune. Amara. Uranus. The others…Luna….Artemis…Saturn...Pluto..._

_She was on the Moon. She was Serenity. Moon Princess. Serena. Sailor Moon._

_This was her past..._

_Falling, falling into her mind, into place..._

_Faces, she knew, faces she knows, returning- to the hum of a twinkling melody-_

...

Darien held her after he'd kissed her. The girls stayed quiet in anticipation. The glow of the Locket on the couple's faces.

"Look! Her Crest!" Luna exclaimed.

Keeping her in his arms, he looked between Serena's blank eyes: The Moon Symbol.

It glowed bright, and suddenly the blinding white light, seemed to be fighting against a dark glow from her chest.

Darien grasped the Locket. The melody of the Locket was still humming loudly in the background. "Come on Serena." He urged.

The seed slowly glowed against her body, as her head pulled back and her Moon symbol glowed brighter. It rose out from her chest slowly.

"Be ready. If this works, we need to catch that seed." Artemis said quietly.

Suddenly a bright flash filled the room. And the Seed escaped her chest, and Lita caught it in a vase, spilling the red roses onto the ground in Darien's bedroom.

"Good catch." Mina said impressed.

"You can't be a good fighter if you're not quick on your feet. Hm." Lita said recovering, looking rather irked at the catch.

"I hate to say it but a vase isn't going to hold it well." Amara said.

"Shh. Serena's waking up I think." Michelle shushed her.

"Serena!" Darien said.

Her eyes slowly faded back to normal. She blinked.

"Darien?" She said absently. "That song…"

She looked to see the Star Locket.

"It always brings us back together doesn't it?" Darien said giving it back to her, holding her hand tight.

"Mhm. I remembered, the past…the Locket, that night….the night I gave it to you…" She looked up to him, and saw the same blue eyes she saw staring down at her that night on the Moon.

"You really scared us Serena…you couldn't remember any of us. You were some amnesic zombie on a bed… you really need to improve your memory you know." Rei scolded.

"I'm sorry. But it was all of you that brought me back." She said meekly.

"Oh Serena, you'll never change." Luna said.

"What's are you doing with that?" Serena looked to Lita who had the Seed trapped like a cockroach under a cup.

"We need a jar. Can someone get one from the kitchen?" Lita said.

"Second cupboard on the right." Darien said.

"We caught your seedling Serena. I just don't know how easy it will be to study." Ami explained.

"But our first action should be paying those two Sailor-Pains a visit." Rei said.

"I don't even want to call them scouts." Lita said carefully exchanging the Seed from the vase to the jar with Amara's help. "They don't deserve it."

"Now that you're back Serena, we can. I'm sure that girl they took hold of would be happy to get back to finishing her classes too." Michelle added.

"I'm game to see what their up to. Plus we out number them." Amara added.

"We all need to make sure we don't get hit though." Ami said. "Forgetfulness isn't uncommon. It's probably an easy one to spread. It will be interesting to see what kind of energy these feed off of…"

"I don't want to have to deal with this again. Nobody should." Darien looked from the Serena to the scouts.

"That's right. All the people that got turned are dealing with the same thing Serena is." Rei nodded.

"Which also means it shouldn't be hard to find them if the town is going Ghost again." Lita crossed her arms.

"Are you going to be okay Serena?" Michelle asked.

"I should be now." She sat up. "I guess I just need to work on my memory a little more…"

"Might make up for all those missed scout meetings when you "forgot" to come and went to the arcade…" Rei dug.

"Don't be so righteous!" Serena pouted.

"I think it's about time you scouts got going. Just make sure that you guys are on your game this time and don't get hit by those crystals." Artemis said.

"We'll start to investigate this star seed but it might only last until you guys defeat them." Luna paced around the jar.

"Here, keep my computer Luna. Use it to scan and research it." Ami took out her hand-held.

"Thank you Ami, now go scouts before it's too late." Artemis said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7: ****Unravels**

"Good this time it spread well." Sedna nodded to Varune at his work.

"I'm surprised the Guardian Scouts haven't come out to play though?" Varune acknowledged.

"Do you think-" Sedna bit her lip, watching Lethe move about the town. "Those girls earlier…I'm quite sure they were the same girls that tried to call me out yesterday."

"So you _did_ catch on."

Sedna and Varune turned to see Ixion behind them, standing on the roof as well. His vest was similar to Varune's but a burnt orange red with square shoulder guards. His cuffs, while similar to Varune's, were pointed at the elbow in the same burnt orange. His black pants didn't slouch like Varune's either, but instead fell inside two boots. His red brown hair waved down from his forehead, dusted over his boyish golden-rust eyes to his smirking mouth and his arms crossed, showing off his muscle and his gold-brown fingerless gloves.

"What do you mean _catch on_?" Varune looked darkly at him. Varune never really liked Ixion's ways. Ixion had tried to woo Sedna long before he'd made a pact with her to rule the reign of the dark waters together.

"I've been watching. I find it so pathetic that the people of this planet are so weak…but I also wanted to know what works too." Ixion shrugged, his smirk biding across his face in charm.

"Is that spite I hear for the people of this planet or the one whose supposed to rules?" Sedna looked challenging at him. She also knew his methoods well. Ixion had gotten himself into deep waters in the past, and always tried to undo it with his own heated ways.

Ixion ignored it. "I noticed the same thing. I'm quite positive you may have knocked them out too soon... But I'm waiting to see how it goes. Our _Queen_ of the scorned planets such as ourselves already gave me my two kakoi for when your turn has past."

"What makes you so confident in all of this?" Varune asked.

Ixion turned to leave, his eyebrows lifted and shoulders shrugged. "I could never forget that face; the face of purity that my fire has not yet singed. "

"What a Romeo. That will be his downfall you know?" Sedna said shaking her head.

"It was then. But if he is right, then we may have already succeeded." Varune said.

"Of course, then we don't have to worry about-" Sedna's eyes caught their demon girl. "What could Lethe be doing chasing after a studious student again? Her targets are dwindling-" Sedna rolled her eyes, leaning against Varune, her pale blue curls falling onto his shoulder.

"She only remembers one thing. Relax." Varune said, putting his chin on her head. "We'll go make sure it turns out."

"Remember to forget!" Lethe called out at the bespectacled young boy.

"Let me go, you enormous monstrosity!" The boy was cornered in an empty parking lot.

"Let the kid go!"

"Huh?" Lethe turned to see seven Sailor Scouts and one Tuxedo Mask.

"How dare you try to force this hard working student to forget who he is and all he's studied for!" Mercury called out.

"We don't all have the best memory, and I'm not about to forsake those who have a good or bad one! Nobody is perfect and you are a perfect pain that we're not going to let do this any longer!" Uranus called out.

"On behalf of the Sailor Scout's we will punish you!"

"And I thought we might have actually gotten rid of you." Sedna appeared above the scene as the boy crept away and almost fled before she held out a hand and some black watery tentacles kept him in place. Her eyes shifted to Varune; they both were wondering if Ixion had been right at all.

"Hah, takes more than a little seed or two to get us!" Sailor Moon called out, as the others sighed.

"I can't imagine you all have a perfect memory…you seemed to have all forgotten the dark past you came from." Varune looked lamely at them.

"Why don't you just spit out what's bugging you!" Jupiter challenged.

"Nah, we like the Suspense. It's nice to have a one up from your planetary tirents for a change." Sedna laughed. "It's also nice to see that Neptune has finally shown up. It will be a good day to see the deepest parts of the waters overcome the skimming foams overshadowing above us for so long."

"Lethe will help us do those honors for now." Varune motioned to Lethe.

"Lethe only knows one thing: Spread the Seeds!" The purple skinned monster with a braid sticking out behind her as if held by gel, released seeds from her mark.

They all scattered missing them.

"Deep Submerge!"

Neptune's Wave flushed the enemy against a nearby brick wall.

"We need something better before she strings us up again." Tuxedo Mask pointed out.

"She said she could only remember one thing. What if that thing is the string?" Uranus motioned at the ribbon.

"I did that as a kid when I was younger." Venus nodded. "It fits."

Mercury used her glasses. "While her energy source is from the Seed, it seems like her power is emitted from that ribbon."

"So how do we get rid of it so I can heal her?" Sailor Moon asked warily. She didn't want to get seeded again.

"Which one of our powers can get rid of a ribbon? Well I never thought I'd see the day that'd would be our dilemma." Jupiter mentioned.

"I got this." Mars nodded. "String can't handle my fire."

"In that case, we'll distract her in various directions." Tuxedo Mask suggested.

"Too much work how about this." Jupiter shook her head. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Lethe was electrocuted by the blast of energy. "Ahgghgh!"

"Not fair! I my turn to strike! Wait…" Lethe went to stand up and held up her finger.

"Wrong move sister!" Mars shouted. "Mars Flame Sniper!"

Mars' flame shot right at her finger, and singed the ribbon.

"What!? WHAT? NO! But I was supposed to remember one thing- I can only remember one thing- but now I'm forgetting- oh what was it- Master Varune?!" Lethe looked for Varune but the two had already left. She knocked at her head as if trying to get information out the same way one gets water out of their ear.

"Now Sailor Moon!" Neptune called out.

"Right! Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

"NOO!"

They watched as the Seed escaped Mimzy's body as she collapsed. It flew high into the air and suddenly sunk back into the sky as if it had escaped, teleporting back to their lair.

Mimzy woke up slowly. "Ooh my head. What's happening? Why aren't I at school!" She sat up from a bench.

"Here!" Lita put the agenda in front of her. "We came to give this to you after school but you walked off."

"Yea you seemed a little absent. I hope school went fine?" Mina asked.

"Why am I on the bench?"

"You fell ! I think you may have been looking for your agenda actually and you bumped into that bench. You should watch where your going more often!" Rei smiled.

"Oh…I'm such a klutz sometimes." Mimzy blushed. "Thank you!"

"If you ever need help on anything you should get a tutor for school! I'd help but I have a lot of studying myself for University." Ami recommended.

"Thanks! I might do that! Bye!"

"See I told you. It's Serena's long lost intellectual twin." Rei dug giving a smug look.

"Oh no, I'm not that bad…am I?" Serena looked to the others and then to Darien.

"Well…I mean we know now it could be worse?" Darien laughed nervously.

Serena sighed. "Alright. I'll try harder I swear. No more seed stuff."

"Speaking of Seed stuff, we need to check if Luna and Artemis got any info on that seed before it disappeared." Lita motioned.

"Right. Lets go." Mina nodded.

* * *

"They really are a pain…but Lethe spread farther than before." Sedna admitted, leaning against the walls of the dark room. "Darling, I really will be a happy woman when we finally get to see their faces when we over take them."

"At least they are learning the extent of our wrath…especially if one of them was hit with the seed…" Varune speculated.

"But you_ did_ undermine the fantastic power of fire didn't you?" Ixion appeared smirking.

"So you favor the Mars one now do you?" Varune raised a brow.

"No, for one, my powers are much better than hers. I'd rather prefer a dove to a raven."

"So she's given you the next Seeds to spread…" Sedna looked at him.

"I really do think she gave me the best ones too…" He looked at the Seed he had.

"_Best ones?"_ Sedna looked skeptical.

"…for my plan." Ixion smirked.

"I can't believe she's feeding your fire by giving you-" Varune started.

"Ah, ah, it's a new era my dear Varune. Who's to say I can't prevail this time? I have just the plan for my dear Kakoi of Quarrels."

* * *

_**On my Deviant Art account purpledancer69 I will be uploading an image of the characters and information on them as they arise in the story! If you want you can check them out!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8: Clues from the Past**

"So what did you find?" Ami asked the two cats.

"Well we had to scan it and make sure we could keep the digital analysis with your computer Ami, but it seems like this isn't the kind of energy that the Dark Moon used. It is dark energy, but it registers as something much more familiar." Artemis said showing the geometric plan of the seed on the screen.

"So what is it?" Mina asked.

"It's energy that is more like your own. It acts like power similar to your own; that of a Senshi…of course there is no saying, that like Galaxia was, it may have been affected by a negative influence." Luna speculated.

"You can't tell what planet though?" Amara asked.

"No. It's –" Artemis sighed. "Many of the outer planets, including Saturn and Pluto have powers that are driven from a darker source. This doesn't mean evil; but like everything in the world there is a balance."

"Like Yin and Yang?" Rei asked.

"Kind of. There is no creation without destruction. No silence without a scream. Dark and Light somehow also tend to equalize as well. These planets, or at least Sedna and Varune, also are two of the outer planets. There are many of them, and not all of them attended council in the past. Frankly I can't remember all myself, but their powers of water, are the powers that are…not evil, but a different spectrum."

"Powers of Sailor Scouts run in all different shapes. Saturn's powers are dangerous but they also create the ability for new life." Luna expanded.

"Sedna said she was "of the deep", does that mean that her powers are of the deeper descents of water?" Ami speculated.

"Varune's powers might be similar then…maybe that's why they call on us..." Michelle noted.

"It's a possibility." Artemis said. "These Seeds are also …specific in a way."

"What does that mean?" Lita asked.

"What Artemis means is that they resemble the Seed of an Apple, in shape. Or at least the closest match we could find." Luna explained.

"So it's native of the Earth?" Darien spoke up.

"The apple once was native of the Earth. It was actually when Earth finally united with the scoutdom; specifically your generation in the past when the apple found its way to the Moon." Luna sighed.

"You mean, it was me who brought it to the moon?" Darien asked.

"I remember that day vividly. Queen Serenity brought back many memories, sometimes in my dreams. Serena, not long after you met Prince Darien, you had a bit of folly in his gardens. The apple is one of the Earth's sweetest fruits, the Fruit of Eve it was once called."

"That's right. It was called that because the first Queen of the Earth was Eve, and she was the first to discover it. Anyone who once was either on Earth or at the Moon at that time may be linked to this fruit." Artemis added.

"But you said Earth wasn't part of the scoutdom?" Amara added.

"No, the Earth for a long while never was part of it. It was of their own choice too. Earth was a very neutral place to live. For that reason the Earth wasn't one to take Scout-oath to the Silver Crystal as a Guardian. Until Darien met you in the past Serena." Luna looked to Serena.

"Really?" Serena blushed. "But how come you don't tell us these things…"

"All of this stuff never came up before. Honestly we don't remember everything, and we are leaving many parts as blanks we cannot fill in. Either way, Apple's actually seeded on the Moon, surprisingly, for Earth plants don't often flourish other places. So we can't be for sure what that means, nor how it links to the two Soldiers of Sedna and Varuna." Artemis added.

"I'm sorry, but can Sailor Soldiers be male? No offence Darien." Mina asked.

They all looked to her a little stunned.

"Yes. A Sailor Soldier doesn't always mean a uniform, or a feminate thing. Most of the planets have a tendency to follow the originating goddesses' gender; the protectors of the planet's crystals were said to be mainly female who sacrificed their lives to protect the powers each planet for example. Eventually Sailor Soldiers weren't just planetary, but became part of a domain; if there is something to protect, there is likely a soldier for it." Luna explained.

"Darien, and like Varune, I assume, is taken on his own identity. Remember, Darien never truly became a Sailor Soldier in his past, he only gave oath himself to protect Serena and the silver crystal long after the original choosing and oaths were taken at a young age." Artemis reminded.

They nodded.

"So what can we do to stop them?" Lita asked.

"Unfortunately, like a Sailor Scout striking another Scout's power, most of the time all they do is clash. War between Scouts is often redundant because the playing field is equivalent; but also you are meant to protect the given power and it's source. Your planet is protected by your ability to use its power. If this is planetary, the only thing we can do is purify it."

"If Serena's scepter doesn't' work, then frankly, it might have to be the silver crystal as it is. Until we find by who, or how these are being controlled, changing that wont be easy…Any Power turned to Darkness has an instigating reason behind it. You can't put a band aid over it until you fix the problem." Artemis expanded.

"So it got us nowhere…" Rei leaned back.

"No, at least we know what we're dealing with. Or at least closer to an answer." Amara shook her head.

"I think I'm going to see if Pluto, or Trista can join us. Saturn hasn't awakened yet, so I'm leaving her out of it for now." Michelle said.

"Hasn't awakened _yet_?" Mina looked apprehensive.

"I'm hoping this isn't heading that way." Michelle gave a small reassuring smile.

"We can only hope so. Hopefully the next time we'll get closer to some answers." Darien concluded their conversation. He knew he wasn't about to let Serena, or anyone other scout swayed by these Seeds. The Earth was his to protect, and more so, using the Fruit of the Earth to promote sin…he didn't like that either.

* * *

"So, the question is, _what_ do I do with you?" Ixion looked down on the city, his first Seed in his palm. _Neikia._ "What quarrels are the easiest to begin?"

"I hear Sedna and Varune ran into them twice. You should be ready to counter them; it seem's their Plans for direct attacks didn't work so well."

Ixion turned to see Charon. His silver long bangs hung down his left eye, his hair in his ponytail, silvery over his darker tanned skin. His dark green hood was down, over his light silver green vest like Charon and Varune's. His staff, long with a diamond-shaped green illuminate crystal hanging off like the end of a hanging lantern, with three gold coins hanging off of it.

"I'll think of a way. I always do." Ixion scanned the city. Somewhere in the city was his real coveted goal; to find her and this time make her realize he was more than just a small-time soldier.

"And I hate to suggest that your mind might be somewhere else at times." Charon said calmly. He wasn't accusatory like Sedna and Varune; Charon was sometimes overly calm, at least in Ixion's opinion. Ixion didn't get that. How could that man hold no grudge? They're must be one under his calm dark green eyes? Ixion knew his own grudge was best matched in his own satisfaction of winning what he once lost. But, Charon had his own skeletons, and certainly he wasn't the only one with a woman on his mind.

"And yet you are here scanning the city to, and you don't have a Seed to spread. I will tell you if I see her. I know what it is like." Ixion closed his hand on the seed as it disappeared. He'd call it out the moment he found his method. Ixion gave a small look of brief comfort, as if he'd hoped Charon might actually admit their similarity.

"If you don't I don't care. She made her decision then." Charon looked away. "Unlike you, I don't care to win her over. I couldn't once…"

"But you can't tell me you wouldn't like to prove her wrong? Show here what she's missed? Charon you really are stone cold to your own wants." Ixion flashed his devious charming smile.

"I'd like to tell her, straight for once, but I don't chase wheels that are turning in another direction. Even if they do see their own mistakes, they've already head down one path. You can't go back, or in reverse in life can you?" Charon's metaphor was a little one sided too Ixion's own powers, his wheel of hellish fires. Charon's voice was still too calm.

"As you wish. If you were smart you'd try to get her to come to our side. I'm sure she's not to far from it Mr. Moon-mover." Ixion teased his ally.

"I don't do that transportation stuff anymore for anyone. No simple coin, nor trade. Nor goodness of the heart. The moon I rule is my own, I deviated from that life, and the moon's planet that I wasn't enough for. It's your time now anyway Ixion, goodluck."

Ixion swore he heard less calm and a bit of bitter in his voice. But Charon had left and he didn't care to pull teeth to get more out of him.

It was funny how easy lover's love can turn to Quarrels…

Actually Charon had helped given him the answer to his little problems. Ixion pulled out the Seed again and smiled. Now…for the right opportunity.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9: A Chipped Heart**

Ixion passed by the humans. His black suit and burnt orange dress shirt open as his auburn red locks fell about in the air, dusting his eyes. He smirked knowing his charm still caught the eye of the other sex passing by.

But he knew he had to find a loophole. The two _sea-monsters_ Sedna and Varune didn't really get too far with their Spreading of Discord. He knew the advantage of causing a rift between human would only help him conquer the Guardian Senshi, and hopefully aid him in his own quest. If he couldn't depend on human-hosts to spread it alone, he'd have to get a bit creative. But he was good at that.

The people of the Earth were very commercial. They spent all their days on their purchases. Sure he wasn't one to talk, but whatever "money" they used it seemed to show used also to show people affection. Gifts. Purchases. Clutter.

His shoulder got pushed as a woman passed by him, following a male.

"I can't believe you forgot-"

"I'm sorry I've been-"

"I was left in the rain all night! And the other day you forgot our anniversary… I can't believe you!"

"Darling don't! Something happened-"

"No, I can't do anymore excuses... that's it we're done!" The woman ran away after throwing something at the man.

Ixion turned to see a small charm had hit his foot. A heart. How adorable. He picked it up.

"Can you give that? I'll see if I can return it…"

"It's really too bad. It is a nice charm." Ixion looked at it hard. "Tell me where did you get it?"

"I'll show you. It's a little shop around the corner. Alhtough, looks like I won't be going there for a while."

"Love. It's a complicated thing isn't it." Ixion smiled.

"I'm sure you don't have a problem…"

"Oh I do. But I think I'll be able to fix it sooner than later." Ixion entered the doors behind the boy.

"How can I help you?" A taller young woman with black hair, and large blue eyes asked.

"I'm here to return this."

"Why? I thought you said your girlfriend would love it?" She took the charm delicately in her hands.

"She did. Until she dumped me. I don't even need the money back. Here." He drooped out of the room.

"Oh." She silently stood in the room for a moment.

Ixion shuffled around the room.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I was looking for a charm…something to do with love…or relationships or-" Ixion gave her a dangerously charming stare.

"Oh well…I hope you weren't… I mean I do, they're over here."

Ixion looked at the case. So many for love. Charon really did give him a good play for this Seed. Speaking of seeds…

"This one…what is it?"

"Oh its called 'Apple of my Eye'." Its supposed to look like the inside of an apple…in the shape of a heart. I have ones for couples too…where the two halves fit. They can put them wherever and-"

"What was the one that gentleman brought in?"

"Oh it looks damaged. I really hate that that had to happen…I opened this shop so people didn't have to end up like that…I wanted to bring people closer together …"

"Bitten by the poison apple of love once too?" Ixion raised a brow and put his hand close to hers.

"Oh…oh I shouldn't say."

"Oh it's fine. My name is Aden Ixion. And yours?"

"Adori. I did…and when my mom passed, I made our jewelry store into a charm store…so people could have charms to give them reminders…luck for their relationship. My relationship ended harsh…but I can remember the pain so well…we were going to get married. But enough about me…what about you?"

"I'm still looking. I have my eye on someone…but I'm afraid I'm not the first to try and steal her heart. On the other hand, I like this charm. I think I could use it to my advantage …but you see Adori, I need your help. I need these charms to be a bit more- modified…"

* * *

"Darien! Oh Darien!" Serena entered the apartment and snuck over to the black haired man with his back turned at a desk.

"Surprise!"

"AHH!" Darien's book fell off the desk, and his phone collapsed on the ground.  
"Serena, I was on the phone- can you just let me do this for a minute-"

"But I wanted to Surprise you!" Serena gulped "Well I wanted to see if you wanted to come to the festival tonight! And maybe go boating today, its so nice! Jus the two of us and-"

"Serena, I'd love to but …I'm taking a course tomarrow. Its just a day, but I need to read up on some material. I just got the second spot, and I'm trying to see if another colleague of mine wanted to go. I'm going to be busy today Serena I'm sorry."

"Oh…Well I'm sorry I messed up your call."

"I'll talk to you later, Maybe I'll be able to show up."

"So whose the colleague your bringing? Maybe you could set him up with Leta, you know she's been looking for a boy-"

"No, no Serena, she's a woman. Hana Hachickio. We were in a lot of classes together and I think she'd like it. She was always into the social sciences edge to the aspect of hard politics and I think that she'd appreciate if I brought…or at least invited her. I was about to call her when you came in. Maybe even catch up…I think she's been doing some interesting stuff since we graduated- "

"Well I don't want to interrupt. I'll just be leaving now."

"Oh don't be like that Serena, you know I'd spend time with you if I could afford it. Maybe if-_ *sigh*_ I'll have to let you know later. Don't be mad Serena."

"I'm not. I'll head out now."

"Later Serena." He called out as she left. He turned around to give a tug back to him, but she was already gone. He didn't want to ditch her, but he had to catch up a bit…although…he didn't understand why she got so distant when he mentioned other girls? She couldn't possibly think?

* * *

"What's up Serena? You look glum?" Mina asked.

"Oh its just that Dariens got so much going on now that he wants to make up for his year away I-"

"Don't be so selfish! He's back with you, and when he has the time he'll spend time with you." Rei scolded.

"His studies are going to be important Serena. He's going to regain his spot as Prince of the Earth eventually." Ami nodded.

"But I get it. It sucks to be pushed to the side." Leta agreed with Serena.

"Actually I felt bad. I knocked over his book and phone this morning. I should have been more careful."

"Wow Serena, actually scolding yourself. Makes my job easier." Luna retorted.

"Well then, why don't you get something to apologize? Maybe then he'll be more into spending the night at the festival with us!" Mina smiled pulling Serena off the floor.

"Funny how you guys always end up shopping for therapy. I don't get it." Artemis watched as the girls rush to the door of the temple.

"I, frankly don't get it either." Luna sighed.

"Oh I thought it was a girl thing." Artemis looked to Luna with a sigh, as the girls ran off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10: Apple of My Eye**

"You need to get something he'd like. Something that says you're sorry. He'll realize maybe he needs to be more accommodating for you…it's the perfect plan!" Mina said leading the girls.

"What about flowers? He likes flowers right?" Leta asked.

"That's stuff a girl would want. You need something more generic." Rei sad.

"I don't know. The only thing we've ever really exchanged…well I mean that meant something was the star locket. I have his ring…but –"

"What about something like the ring? It was a promise right? That he'd be there for you. So what about something like that?" Ami added.

"When did you get so romantic Ami?" Rei teased. Ami blushed.

"I think that's a great idea." Leta added.

"But you can't really get a guy jewelry though?" Mina said.

"No, but maybe a charm or something. I mean you have that locket right? As long as its not really girly-" Leta was looking down the street.

"What are you thinking Leta?" Serena asked.

"I see what your saying." Mina said to Leta. "She found us a Sale." She grinned and led the girls to a small shop called "A Lover's Charm".

"Come in and look through my beautiful charms! Bring in charm to your romance with broaches, rigns, charms, and jewelry for male and female lovers and witness our most popular line of-" Adori turned to see the girls. "I'm so happy to see a bunch of wide eyed girls coming to my shop."

They looked to the woman, who had wavy black hair and blue eye to them. She wore a red dress, with a little pin on it, with a name tag below. "You girls all looking for a gift for a loved one? You should come in. It's only the best. If your in a quarrel with your lover we've got the perfect gift."

"Not all of us, but I'd sure like to look around." Ami said as they walked in.

"Woah, some of these are expensive." Lita said.

"But they're really cute. I mean even the pins are cute for a shirt…not too gaudy. Or charms for a charm bracelet…" Mina looked in the cases.

"But I mean I don't see how a charm can give out luck…I mean fortunes but-" Rei started.

"Oh so you're the skeptic type. Don't believe in the charm of love?"

They turned as Ixion gave them a suave look from behind a row of display cases.

"No I just believe that charms are meant for good luck and belong at a temple." Rei said.

"Why not love?" Ixion asked. "Young woman as yourselves must know love."

"I just don't see how these ones could bring love." Rei just knew that there wasn't much here. She couldn't feel the presence of good luck or love's aura.

"I think these could very well kindle a flame of love." Ixion's eyes danced, like a golden fire from each one of the girls.

"I think so too." Mina smiled, noticing Ixion's charm.

"I can tell you, that no fire is going to prove these charms…" Rei felt put off by Ixion's stare and shushed herself.

Ixion's eyes landed on Serena. Her blue eyes and her blonde hair… Something about that face. "So which one of you girls is looking for a charm for a loved one?"

"Well…" Lita scratched her head.

"Uhm-" Mina sunk.

"Not really-" Ami's eyes dropped.

"…" Rei didn't finish her previous sentence and bit her lip.

"Well me…but I must say most of the stuff is a little above my wallet weight." Serena said nervously in a laugh.

"Well we do have a promotion." Ixion walked over to her. "Tell me, what does he like?"

"Well…he's smart…and kind of a heroic person….and he likes roses…but I need to get him something to say I'm sorry-"

Ixion looked down at the girl. Was she just attractive to him or was it that she was familiar? He'd served many couples today along side his wonderful Adori. If his goals were to break apart the scouts, and of course his Princess and her Lover by spreading these charms around he could only get closer to his goal. He looked at the group. There was five of them…

"What could you have done wrong? Shouldn't the Prince be buying for the Princess?" Ixion raised a brow.

"Oh, no. I just…I got a bit jealous and stuff and-"

"Say no more." Ixion said. "The collection "Apple of My Eye" is on sale and you can surely get him something in that set. Supposed to promote the idea that they are your one and only as the saying goes. Most people I'd recommend matching ones, but it seems you might only have enough for his."

"That should work Serena, since he gave you the promise ring before." Mina piped in.

"A ring?" Ixion asked.

"Just a token to show me how much I meant to him." Serena hadn't stopped wearing it.

"Well in that case, you can get him a pin…he could wear it on his shirt, like you wear your ring. " He handed her the pin.

It was a golden apple, halved, that almost looked like a heart shape, with a little seed-jewel in the middle of a red-purple color. It wasn't gaudy like Mina had mentioned, and at least he could wear it. Didn't the Apple represent Earth as it's fruit? I mean the first Queen of Earth or something ate one? Wasn't that what Luna had said?

"I'll take it." Serena took out her wallet.

"I'll give you a discount too, since I really hate to see anyone as pretty as yourself in a lover's quarrel. I hope you two stop your quarrelling for the better… " He gave her the charm.

Serena blushed a little. "Thank you-"

"- Aden. And you?"

"Serena. Thanks! I hope Darien likes it." She left with the others.

"You've been giving them to couples, why just the girl's lover?" Adori asked after they left.

"She doesn't need it. The lover will be enough. I like that one anyway. " Ixion shrugged.

"But the single ones…if the charms don't work-"

"That's where you come in Neikia. That's when, and soon, everyone will know this discord. And if luck is on our side, I will find the loop hole I need."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11: The Rotten Side of the Apple**

"Funny, I never thought as an apple as a symbol of love." Lita said walking with Serena away from the shop.

"I'm surprised…you know the charm is an _apple_ and -." Rei added.

"Oh Rei stop it. It's a charm. It's for a love. Nothing based in Love could ever be evil." Mina scolded. "Plus, as the Scout of Love, I am coming with you to support this plan." Mina smiled widely at Serena.

"Fine. I still don't like it." Rei complained.

"Or is it because you clashed hard with that hot shop owner?" Lita smiled.

"I just got a weird feeling about him. I can't believe he questioned me? I mean I know my psychic thing is pretty fool proof, and I got the fire to show it. Plus charms don't really work that way. Nothing about these charms gives off pro-lovey vibes."

"I hope it turns out well Serena." Ami nodded to Serena.

"Me too." Serena looked at it. Maybe she was trying too hard…but she didn't want to get in the way of Darien's academics…or jobs…but was it that selfish that she wanted a bit more time in there too?

"Hey, Serena isn't that Darien there?" Lita asked. They spotted him waiting outside a tall brick building.

"We'll let you give him the charm, and wait over here." Rei sat down on a bench underneath the afternoon summer sky.

"I'm hanging close by. I want to see if these Magical little charms work, otherwise you wont be the only one emptying your piggy bank." Mina smiled and trailed enough behind so she could watch. "Scout of Love's gotta keep cupid's arrow on track."

Serena walked over, not sure what he was doing outside in front of a row of business buildings. "Darien?"

"Oh Serena, I wanted to try to talk to you again but you were already out. I got a little dishevelled this morning. Sorry ." Darien said apologizing for his lack of …well apology for this morning. "Actually I couldn't get ahold of you because when you came in this morning, you dropped your cell in my apartment."

Serena took it back. She hadn't even noticed. "Thanks! What are you doing here?"

"I'm just waiting on someone. Shopping again?"

"Yes. Actually…here." Serena handed him the small box with the charm-pin in it.

"What's this?"

"It's for this morning. Or for…kind of what you did with the ring..." She didn't know how to say it. She wasn't shy or anything, but giving Darien a gift like this…it was supposed to be special.

"Oh. Well you know you didn't have to-"

"Well I used most of my allowance up so I hope you like it." Serena said guiltily.

Darien looked at it. A half an apple, more like the shape of a heart. It reminded him of a tiepin. It had a little oval gem in the middle too. "It's nice Serena, but why? The ring was a promise that'd I'd be with you even when I couldn't be around."

"Well I really didn't want you to think that I barged in, I mean sure I really do want to go to the festival tonight with you but I still got in the way of the phone call-and I too want you, to you know, know that I'm around and -" Serena sighed and looked up to him with hopeful eyes.

Darien put the pin on his jacket. Upon doing this he felt a strange rush in his body. In a wave that he couldn't control of a feeling of annoyance pulsed through him; an inclination that took over his body.

"You just shouldn't barge in all the time. It's still my apartment." Darien said irritably.

"Well I-" Serena started.

Mina walked over noticing that Serena looked way off put.

"Hey! I hope you weren't waiting too long!" Suddenly a forth person entered the group. Serena saw a girl with reddish brown hair in a short bob, wearing a pale blue button up shirt and a black skirt. She had large green eyes on a petite face and frame.

"Woah, she looks professional." Mina said.

"You must be Serena, Darien's girlfriend?" The woman said to Serena with a smile. "Although I could be wrong. You both almost fit the description. My name is Hana Hachickio."

"Darien told me you were going to the course with him tomorrow?" Serena asked curiously why Darien was already with her.

"Well it just so happened that I wasn't busy today and recommended to him we should grab some coffee. I hope you don't mind! My fathers a lawyer so I figured we could go over some of his case files as warm up for tomorrow and catch up. I really think social work problems often turn to legal cases when they go down hill. It works well from both sides; a humane and a political standing." Hana smiled warmly. "But if you want to steal him back that's fine too. We could always catch up tomorrow before the course."

"No, no it's fine..." Serena said. She knew that was the polite thing to say, but Hana was pretty. Refined. Older. "Also I'm sorry for this morning…"

"Oh that was you that caused Darien to drop the phone?" Hana laughed. "It did make the conversation more exciting."

"She's really a klutz sometimes. We should go, the case files will probably take a while." Darien said rather nonchalantly, as if the dig wasn't present.

"Well I don't think case files would interest you two, but you guys could come along? I'd love talking to the girl Mister Picky is settling down with." Hana said warmly, trying to pick up from Darien's staleness.

"Mr. Picky?" Mina asked hesitantly, looking to Serena.

"Oh yea, Darien, in high school, back in the day…Even when he modeled, he barely dated any of the girls that chased after him."

"I just didn't care for them. Girlfriends get in the way of things mostly anyway." Darien said bluntly. "And Serena doesn't need to come. It's academic talk anyway; she'll probably just knock the coffee over on the files. Let's go Hana." Darien turned away.

"Oh, well, it was nice meeting you Serena." Hana said kind of off-put as she walked away hesitantly behind him.

"What was that? Did he even say thank you? And I haven't heard him talk like that since way back when you guys weren't together…and even then it wasn't that harsh." Mina said.

"Maybe…maybe he was just in a rush." Serena bit her lip.

"Hey how'd it go?" Rei asked as the girls walked over.

"And who was that girl with him?" Leta asked.

"Just his friend Hana Hachicko. And it went-"

"Don't even sugar coat it Serena. I've never seen Darien act rude before but that was-"

"Darien was rude?" Rei lifted a brow. "Well, that's a flash back. He hasn't been bitter to you way back since when-".

"Ahem- Hachicko is also a name of a well known Lawyer in Tokyo. She must be his daughter." Ami added, stopping Rei from mentioning the other times Darien ignored Serena. "If she's Darien's friend it's likely she'll be helpful in his academic endeavors…"

"He didn't like the pin?" Leta asked.

"I- I think. I don't know. You know maybe I am coming on too strong. I just guess maybe I missed him too much. I think I'm going to go have a nap...or something…it has kind of been a long day." Serena looked to her fingers. Something wasn't right…had she really been that annoying this morning? She didn't even have any money left for the festival…or even an ice cream to cheer her up.

"Don't forget about the Festival later tonight! We'll just go together as a group…. Serena?" Mina tried to lighten her spirits but the odangoed girl had already walked away.

"So what exactly did he say?" Leta crossed her arms.

"Honestly, just made her sound dumb and klutzy right in front of Hana." Mina looked worried. "He also didn't sound like he was interested in spending any time with her. It was way weird."

"That doesn't sound like Darien." Rei shook her head.

"It does kind of sound like you though." Leta smirked.

"Hey, I only do it because she needs it….but not from him. Darien's supposed to be Serena's prince. " Rei raised her nose in the air before lowering it modestly.

"This was way harsh. No thank you for the gift. No intimacy. It was like he was ready to put Serena off too for that Hana girl. Not the normal." Mina was concerned.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the gift?" Ami asked.

"Why?" Mina looked to Ami.

Ami pointed at a couple. They were arguing along the way, and quarreling back and forward. Both of their comments seemed very harsh and snide from what the girls could make out.

"So its another couple fighting?" Leta asked, cringing though as the comments were a little blunt.

"They both actually have those charms on. Look." Ami noticed a glistening heart-half-golden apple on the man's shirt and a charm on the girl's bracelet, catching light of the slowly receding Sun.

"Could be a coincidence?" Mina asked.

"I don't know. They've got some kinda bad vibe coming off of them. But it could just be the fact that they're arguing." Rei added.

"Maybe we should keep an eye. If we see this more than once it might be a good idea to investigate." Leta nodded.

"I'd hate to think Serena got in the middle of another attack…it doesn't seem likely. How could they control everyone if only couples are targeted..." Ami started.

"Either way, I had those bad vibes first from that store, so lets make our way back over before it closes. If we see enough proof I have no problem with setting those charms on fire." Rei said leading the way off back down the main street.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12: The Serpent's Apple **

"Serena what's gotten into you?" Luna asked.

"It's nothing Luna. I'm probably just taking this all to heart too much..." Serena sat in her bath trying to calm her mind.

"What to heart?"

"Darien…he went out for coffee with this woman today. I gave him an apology gift for this morning and he just ignored me…and called me klutzy- like I don't already know am- and he basically called me stupid and- I've been better lately haven't I? I mean I didn't think I really bugged him that much..." Serena looked at her reflection in the water.

"That's not the Darien I know Serena. If he was rude I'm sure he'll apologize. Darien did go through a lot too… he's also probably pressured to become a good future King." Luna thought it sounded strange, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. "And speaking of which, that women wasn't just "a woman'" was she?"

"No, a friend and colleague." Serena said sheepishly.

"See. He's not ignoring you, he's probably just...has his academics on his mind... Try to talk to him again tomorrow." Luna looked at Serena who was playing with the foam in the water absently. "Then why don't you get ready to go out with your friends? The festival should be fun. Serena you and Darien know your future ends well…I'm sure it will work out."

"Okay, I will. But I'm still staying in the bath for another hour… I need to relax for a while." She leaned back. Maybe Luna was right…but still she hated the feeling of another person mad at her…especially Darien.

"Don't stay in too long Serena you'll get water logged and turn into a raisin!"

"Shh, Luna." She sunk down into the water and splashed over by her cat.

Luna pounced away from the water and rolled her eyes leaving the bathroom.

* * *

"_Who cares, you still never called last night…"_

_"I was at a meeting! And its not like you're a perfect girlfriend either! I don't have time for this."_

The girls watched as another couple leaving in a heated quarrel in opposite directions from each other, in the evening sky.

"Did they have the charms on too?" Leta sighed.

"I'm afraid so." Ami used her computer to pin point the charms on the couple.

"So we do have a connection…" Mina said aloud.

"Or we think we do. I bet we should pay the place a visit before it closes. Need to get this wrapped up before the festival tonight." Rei said.

"Shouldn't we bring Serena? I think she needs her answers too." Ami added.

"I'll send her a text. Lets leave her be as long as possible. If we get in more trouble we can always use our communicators later." Mina said.

"I agree. If this is some strange love coincidence for being the most love-tragic day in Tokyo, then we shouldn't need her and let her figure it out with Darien." Leta nodded.

* * *

"I don't understand why you made a special adjustment for that one girl. She would not be affected you know." Adori retorted, her eyes burning. "Arguments need two arguers."

"Do not quarrel with me Neikia. Save that for when you really need to spread the pain of lost affections. I like to leave myself some room for some fun. What better way to recruit humans than to snag them in myself? Can a man not enjoy the luxuries of playing with a few hearts?"

"And cause her the pain after?"

"You wouldn't understand. If we are lucky, I'd say maybe those Guardian Senshi are too busy in their own quarrels. I can only hope that your use has come to good use for me… " Ixion's eyes moved to Adori. "Make sure the door is closed. I want to have a stand prepared for this "festival" thing those people were speaking of. Whatever we don't sell tonight, we will make up for when you strike. Any human relationship is breakable…especially when they're so easy to influence with all the chaos and discord of the Universe." Ixion turned to leave to the back room. "Close the shop and get ready for this evening."

Adori nodded. She turned the "Open" sign on the shop door to "Closed" and went over to the cash register.

The scouts found themselves outside of the shop not long after.

"So, it's closed." Leta said disappointed.

"That means nothing. We have to figure out if there is a connection." Mina said. Rei nodded in agreement.

"We might not need to break in." Ami stopped them short. "I might be able to see the display case through the window. If the same energy is in the store that came from the seedling then we might have a match."

"Makes sense." Leta nodded.

"Well scan it quick! If this is the cause, we need to get rid of it before all the couples break up." Rei said. "Because If there are seeds nearby then so is one of those monsters."

Ami scanned the shop. "There are strong waves of energy from the display case at the back."

"The same one that Serena got that pin from?" Mina asked.

"Yea, but more concentrated. Each charm seems to almost hold one of the seeds." Ami said.

"So they've got a new way of spreading them. Not just by monster…" Rei said.

"Except that's not it. Somebody is in there, and sending a lot of bad energy off of them." Ami put her mini-computer back just as the door opened to the shop.

"You girls want to come in? I'd never turn down a few good customers." Adori said opening the door with a smile.

The girls stood there in awkward silence.

"Actually, I'd like to ask a few questions about the charms. I'm still not really convinced they work the way they should." Rei took the chance to go inside. She winked at the others to follow her in.

"Well it's-" Adori started just as they entered the room.

"I'd hate to think that you girls came all the way back just to question our product." Ixion entered the room.

"Well lets just say your product is a little suspicious." Leta accused.

"Well how come that attractive girl with you before bought one if they're so suspicious?" Adori looked peeved.

"That's why were here. You're charms are actually causing fights by the couples who are wearing them." Ami added rather bluntly.

"Yea, and you messed up our friend's night. Nobody has the right to mess up love!" Mina proclaimed.

"Your friend is having love problems now eh? Ah, and you all must really be quite the perfect girls, considering the fact that you believe fighting and quarrels are so uncommon in this world…relationships are always shaky. You humans are far from perfect." Ixion challenged.

"Humans?" Leta added. "Alright mister what's your game?"

"No games. Just action." Ixion smiled deviously. "Neikia, I want you to show these girls you don't need a lover to quarrel. Surely you know how delicate relationships are Neikia?"

"As delicate as flowers. Until they bloom into the perfect fruit of love, and the snake is revealed beneath that flower!" Adori suddenly transformed into a monster with the tail of a snake and two golden snake-like armlets that ran to her shoulder, with their faces along her wrists. "I am Neikia, the quarreling demon, no relationship can with stand the poison of vindictiveness that underlies all affection."

"Good. Now get rid of these humans… I'm sure they'll find they have a bit of venom in their own words once they are seeded-" Ixion turned to leave when Rei called him out.

"Oh I wouldn't leave just yet, you can't get rid of us that easily. You want a real charm?" Rei took out a paper charm. "I call upon the power of Mars, smite this evil man and keep him in his tracks so he can be punished." She threw it at Ixion.

He smiled and held out his hand as a wheel-shape flame rolled at the paper charm and engulfed it mid-air before it could reach him.

"Sailor Mars I'm guessing? Nice to finally meet you face to face…unfortunately, for once you'll be fighting fire with fire." Ixion smiled. "I'm Ixion of the Flames of Temptations, and I'm quite sure you'll find I'm a little more fun to fight against than my counterparts, the two sea-Sailors you had previously encountered." He transformed, his red- brown wavy hair fell upon two dangerously golden eyes, with his thin, muscular arms slightly tanned against his orange-red vest. "I also deduce I may have encountered not one, but four of the legendary Sailor Guardians?"

"That's right buddy. You're in for it." Leta said before they all transformed.

"Well this should be fun." Ixion said. "However I think this also means your missing another four Guardian Scouts… you'd better hope your friends are coming because I'm afraid you girls might not be friends for long."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13: One Bad Apple Will Spoil The Whole Bunch**

"Actually," Ixion said crossing his arms. "I really do hope that your friends do show up on the other hand. There are only a select few of you that really interest us."

"What does that mean?" Sailor Venus asked.

"Oh you'll find out soon enough I'm sure." Ixion smiled coyly before turning to the transformed Adori. "Neikia I don't have all day."

"Well lets see how one bad apple can spoil a whole bunch!" Neikia held out her right hand, and the jaw of the snake opened on her wrist shooting out apples at the scouts.

"Ah! What the heck! We're being ambushed by fruit!" Jupiter said as she dodged one of them.

"I don't think their actually fruit. They seem a little hard-" Mercury said almost falling forward into Mars.

"Because they're bad apples! The venomous of hate always comes out LAST!" Neikia sang almost hysterically in anticipation as Neikia stopped suddenly shooting them. The girls took a breather.

"That was it?" Mars asked.

"Where's that venom stuff?" Venus asked.

"I think you spoke too soon." Jupiter said as she watched one of the apples on the ground roll around a little before it popped open and a cloud of green gas filled the air. Suddenly all of the apples did the same.

"I cant breathe!" Venus complained.

"I can't see much either!" Mars said.

"She must be doing this to distract us. " Mercury said trying to scan the room, as her arm covered her mouth.

"That was a rotten trick." Jupiter said who walked backwards absently bumping into Venus' back.

"AH!" Venus cried as simultaneously they found themselves with a snake-like gold coil wrapped around the both of their arms and waists pinning them to the wall.

"What was that?" Mars looked over to see where the yell came from through the green fog and she felt her waist tighten as she bumped into Mercury and further into the wall.

"Nice catch. Now for the main course." Neikia yelled out.

"Where did that guy Ixion go?" Mars asked searching the room.

"I don't think that's our issue." Mercury said as the serpent-like monster Neikia had been pulling at their ropes and with her other arm revealed a Seed-Face mark on her shoulder. Now that the fog was clearing they managed to see Jupiter and Venus get struck with seedlings,.

"Hey would you move over? How are we going to get free if I can't even breathe?!" Venus asked angrily.

"Oh yea like I put us here!" Jupiter nudged Venus, and pulled around in the grasp.

"Well you just pulled my hair!" Venus said trying to pull her locks out from between them.

"It's not my problem your hair is so long…If it was practically put up like mine we wouldn't have this problem!"

* * *

Serena got out of her bath. The sun was setting and the festival started just into the night time hours.

"Serena! Have you seen your phone!?" Luna said nudging at the cell phone on her bed.

"No, I was in the bath Luna and-"

"The scouts thought that Jewelry shop may have been linked to the Seed-Scouts you girls have been going against! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Luna exclaimed reading the text.

"What? The Charm shop!" Serena nearly dropped her towel.

"They haven't said anything else. Can you reach them on your communicator?"

"Wait wait!" Serena stumbled into her clothes. She checked her watch-communicator. "I can't get to them!"

"Then theres no time to loose! We need to get to that shop!" Luna said.

"But Luna-" Serena started to question if Darien had texted her or if he was back.

"No time Serena!" Luna lead Serena down to the shop.

"Don't go in right away." Luna said. She peaked over into the glass. Instantly she saw the scouts, all of them arguing and pulling against the monster who had them trapped. "They're hopeless like that. I don't see Sedna or Varune…we should see if there's a back entrance Serena."

"Alright." Serena nodded. They ran down the side alley to find a door at the back of the shop. She transformed almost immediately.

"I'll let you handle this for the time being, I'm going to find Artemis. I think I'll get more help." Luna said.

"Mhm." Sailor Moon nodded and opened the back door as Luna left.

Ixion stood on the roof and smiled as he watched the feline counter-part leave. He'd actually found the right girl. His intuition was riveting at times.

Sailor Moon opened the door.

It was a stock room. Looked like the place they made the charms. It was pretty dark too…but she had to find her way out and get to her friends.

"I wouldn't go through the door if I were you."

She swallowed. "Who's there!?"

She turned to see a man flat in front of her. He looked vaguely similar to the man at the shop this morning. His red brown wavy locks hit his chin, dancing over his golden eyes, as his orange-red vest, something like Varune's ended in a pair of black pants and sharp rimmed arm braces. His forehead had a sign similar to an I with a slash in the middle and his hands were covered in tan fingerless gloves at the end of muscular arms.

"Who are you?" Sailor Moon took two steps back.

"Ixion, master in the Flames of Temptations. Lets say I give your friend Sailor Mars a little run for her fiery-go. Also, I must apologize for giving you that charm this morning."

"I don't know what your talking about…"Sailor Moon put her arms out ready to attack.

"It was me. You know. I know you're the same girl that came in with your four friends who are now fighting Neikia…or rather fighting with each other. All you have to do is light a fire and someone will find the stuff to ignite it into pure chaos. " Ixion smiled at her.

"In that case I need to get in there."

"You could…but you should realize your Prince Charming won't come for you today if you do fail. I watched Sedna and Varune the last few times. But you see you pinned him with a seedling, and I'm sure you already know how that goes-"

Sailor Moon's eyes opened wide. Dairen.

"But that's it. You know these seedlings don't work well on people that don't have something to fight about…it needs the ignition for an argument to arise…you think he really truly loves you if he's throwing you away so easily? Picking at the faults you have?"

"I gave him a reason to this morning. I wouldn't blame him for it. He does love me." Sailor Moon looked hard at Ixion.

"I had the feeling you were that type." Ixion smiled. "Just checking. But we'll see won't we, Princess Serentiy."

"How do you know so much?" Sailor Moon tried to move closer to the door.

"Just a hint. We were all there in the past. You might not remember, but most of us were kept separate…or we weren't known enough to be seen. But you, well everyone saw you. You were the ideal goddess of the Moon. Frankly you should realize that many others had their eye on you, and many others do, and many others will." Ixion stepped towards Sailor Moon. "When your Prince doesn't show up in that Tuxedo of his, someone else might just have to jump in. Sailor Moon, I think if you were more aware of all that was going on, you'd be more interested to see our side of things. You're already in the grasp of one of our kind, and I don't see a soul intervening." He was inches from her, his arm against the back wall beside her head. His golden eyes looked at her deviously and mysteriously. An enemy was so close to her and he didn't even strike? There seemed to be much she didn't know about these rogue planetary Sailors. More so… was he right about Darien?

"Well I'm just going to-" Sailor Moon then ducked under his gaze, and arm and opened the door to see her friends.

Ixion let her go and smiled.

"Hey you slithering Seed demon! If you think you can cause friction between my friends and my boyfriend well your way out of your mind!"

"Ahhhh another to catch!" Neikia smiled.

"WOW it took you long enough Serena!" Mars chimed out loudly pulling aginst her confines, nearly knocking Mercury to the ground.

Sailor Moon sighed. "I'm trying Rei. Now to deal with you." She turned back to Neikia.

"Don't waste the seedling Neikia. It won't work on her. I'd just make sure she doesn't get in your way." Ixion came out from behind and stood on one of the display cases.

"Oh not an arguer? Not one for a good quarrel or fight?" Neikia twisted her tail.

"When did that happen?" Juptier said.

"Yea you should hear Mars over here and her go at it sometime!" Venus yelled.

Sailor Moon sighed. It wasn't her friends speaking it was the seedling…but then what Ixion said before…

"No, she's not. She's more of a Princess like character. Still waiting on her Prince though…" Ixion teased pointing to a clock in the room. Sailor Moon looked hard at Ixion, but he only returned her glare with a smile. His smile was strange…as if he enjoyed the games but also something else…

"Sailor Moon you're not paying attention you meat-ball head!"

Sailor Moon turned to see a dark red apple being thrown her way, as it hit the ground it exploded barely dodging it falling into a display case.

"Still nothing." Ixion chimed.

Sailor Moon pulled herself up when Neikia threw another one. Sailor Moon barely dodged it again bumping into the wall.

"Let's make sure you don't get away and ruin all my glorious quarreling!" Neikia seemed to marvel in the sound of her friends bickering and pinned her to the wall like her friends.

"Enough." Ixion said to Neikia before she could throw an apple at her again.  
Ixion walked over to her pinned against the wall, beaten up from the two bombs. He took her chin in his hand. "I just wanted to make sure that you werne't going to foil my plan so soon…but also-"

She looked up at him with large blue eyes. She saw something in his eyes. She'd remembered seeing that look before…once when she was trapped in the hands of another man.

"- I'd start to think about who really cares for you…amongst all this chaos. Because chaos is coming Sailor Moon, and if your smart, you'll find that you may find it in the most unexpected of places."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14: Under-Estimated**

_Meanwhile…_

"I can't believe you Darien!" Hana said sweeping up her father's case files, with wide eyes.

"I-" He hadn't said anything that bad had he? He was just saying the truth.

"The way you're talking right now. Its so … forceful!"

"In politics you have to be forceful."

"Yes, but you're taking a humanities oriented approach. More critically inclined to everyone's benefit. Or at least I thought you were? I mean my father's cases know the sides of the criminal and the victim but theres so much more to why people are the way they are - what made them evil. Your being so -" Hana shook her head. "And more so …"

She got silent. He looked up to meet her eyes.

"The way you talked to your girlfriend earlier…like a child…with no respect. I know you were a little conceited at times but you were always so much nicer in my memories of school together. Serena didn't deserve that. Frankly I don't know what happened but…but I'm leaving. Don't do something your going to regret later, acting like that." Hana shaded her head and walked away leaving Darien to the outdoor table at a café by himself.

Why did he feel so agitated? He couldn't hate Hana. He couldn't get out of his mind the argument he had with with Serena either – something- something was off. He scrunched his palm in his hand into a fist.

He felt a quick flash of it. Suddenly. That flash he got when Serena was in trouble. He had to help…but…but after what she did this morning why should he? She was always in trouble…-no-no…this wasn't him. He pressed his hand into the table. What was this hostile feeling? Serena was in trouble…it would be worse if something happened to her. How would he live with himself? But still that feeling…

"Darien?" He looked under the table to see Luna.

"What?" He said, still with the agitated ring of his mind contemplating his feelings, emerging from his thoughts.

"Serena and the scouts are in danger! I left them to see if Artemis could locate the outer scouts, but frankly I get the feeling that they got too close to this one. It was a local charm shop downtown and those Seeds are going to take over this town if we don't hurry. A new rogue senshi is there and frankly he got the scouts under his control too easily…"

"I- should but …I don't know if I want to-" Darien put his head in his palm, resting his elbows on the table.

"What? This isn't you? What happened? I know Serena said she apologized for something earlier. She-" Luna looked up at Darien and spotted it. A charm. Was that the gift Serena spoke about?

"Is that Serena's gift?"

"Yea, although I don't know why I'm wearing it- honestly I-" Darien looked at the pin. Serena had tried to make it up to him, but if he had been mad at her why did he put it on in the first place?

Luna jumped up onto the table and in one quick pounce tore it from his t-shirt and whipped it onto the road.

"What was that?" Darien said, his head spinning as he watched it fly as Luna pounced onto the table.

"A charm. I believe a charm from that evil shop. Serena may have innocently given you something that contained a seed. I don't think it worked. I think you may have been in the process of giving in to it though." They watched as a car crushed over it and a seed shot out of the charm's shattered remains and into the sky.

Darien felt the twinge of Serena in danger again. "I can't believe I almost fell for it…." He felt too shamed to even see Serena.

"Everyone dwells on the faults they see in their partner, friend or love ones. Nobody is perfect Darien. But you didn't and that means your conscience and love for her had enough power to say no to the Seed's temptation. I'm worried if the scouts got influenced easily… I don't know if Serena would be susceptible…only if she truly questioned that you might save her, she might give in." Luna sighed.

"Then lets go. If she and the scouts are in trouble I need to go now." Darien ran off with Luna instantaneously, leaving the shattered remains of the charm glistening in the evening light.

* * *

"Your guardian scouts can't even get a hold of themselves."

"It's your fault. The scouts I know wouldn't fight with each other like this. Fighting just means difference. All people are different; it doesn't mean they have to-"

"You were always the romantic, sweet and innocent type." Ixion coaxed devilishly. "I missed those blue eyes, always sitting pretty like a dove in a white iron cage. You know never had I met such a sheltered princess in my life as you'd been. Everyone protected you and yet you somehow managed to escape that just long enough to get yourself in enough trouble on this Earth back then didn't you? I remember that day, what it was like to see the Princess unprotected. Everyone failed you that day. Just like now… this illusion of happiness is as breakable as glass. Clearly he isn't the real apple of your eye Sailor Moon. I never got the chance as one of the underestimated ones long ago, but," He looked down staring rather boldly at her. "I'm not one to say these things. Normally I have an eye for variety, but if we want to speak apples, you are the apple of-"

_**whoosh***_

Ixion stepped back to see that a red rose had embedded itself in the confine around Sailor Moon causing it to retract, as Sailor Moon fell onto her knees and hands.

"I'd hate to be a cliché but quite frankly I think we're all sick of apples, let alone those seeds. Since you seem to know so much about us, this shouldn't come to a surprise: I am here now, so your plan didn't work." Tuxedo Mask stepped into the room through the same backdoor Serena had come in from, arms crossed leaning against the doorway.

"Should have locked the door. I really wasn't expecting un-wanted guests." Ixion smirked, sending a rolling wheel of flames at the door.

Tuxedo Mask leaped away from the flames, hiding himself behind his cape for protection.

Sailor Moon lunged forward to stop Ixion when Neikia got bored with the scouts.

"I'm sick of this! Lets make more CHAOS!" Neikia through more apple-bombs everywhere in the room, like a cannon, nearly hitting Sailor Moon and her friends who were still arguing dully in the background between screams.

"Don't fry her just y–" Ixion got angry at Neikia, as she got read to shoot more out, as Tuxedo Mask helped SM up.

_"How about we cool this place off?"_

They looked over to see Neptune, Uranus and Pluto at the shop entrance.  
"Deep SUBMERGE!" Neptune called out counteracting Neikia's bombs.

"Sailor Moon, heal this girl so your friends can stop arguing!" Uranus said quickly.

"Right! Starlight Honeymoon Therapy – Kiss!"

Ixion groaned as Neikia turned back to Adori and her friends all returned to normal. He snatched the Seed of Quarrels and jumped through the glass window backwards smashing it.

"Glad I got to meet everyone this time. I'll let Charon know you actually came out to see the fun Sailor Pluto. I'm sure he'll be interested in your arrival." His gold eyes landed devilishly on Pluto, who looked concerned. "Had a good talk this time Sailor Moon. I don't plan on wasting it, so expect even more chaos next time. I'm excited for next time-" He then left in a haze of black.

"What was that about Pluto?" Neptune asked.

"I'm not sure. But Charon sounds familiar…" Pluto looked concerned. "I can't place who that is."

"What do you mean you were talking to him Serena?" Mars complained, getting up from the ground, bruised and battered with the other scouts.

"He trapped me I couldn't help it. He knows a lot about our past… I'm worried." Sailor Moon sighed.

"I'll look into Charon and Ixion tomorrow if you want… at least in terms who they may have been in our solar system. Maybe Luna and Artemis can fill in more blanks… or at least help us jog our memory." Mercury said trying to brush off her previous persona of arguing, which was out of her character.

"Serena…I'm sorry how I acted today. I guess that argument we had was so fresh In my mind…I almost got you in trouble." Tuxedo Mask turned away guilty. "I should be better than that. After what we went through before, I can't believe I almost put you in jeopardy."

"I know you didn't mean it. I gave you the charm; half of it was my fault. Ixion didn't even try to use a seed on me. I could have acted just the same."

"Why didn't he?" Uranus asked.

"I think he thought I wouldn't be affected. " Sailor Moon said skeptically. "But… I think he was wrong. I questioned myself at one point in there…"

"But if he knew that much about you that means there's a lot more to them then we know." Neptune concluded.

"Well the festival is starting soon. I bet Amori is going to wake up and need time to get her charm-shop in order." Venus said, looking at the mess that was left.

"We should get this place back together before she wakes up. We can manage being a little late." Jupiter nodded.

* * *

Adori groaned as she woke up. "What happened?" She looked around and saw her shop was empty. She'd blanked out! It was evening now! Was she mugged?

She looked to the display case. One of them was empty.

"Funny…that one had all the "apple of my eye" charms in it…" She sighed. Maybe she sold out? She'd only wanted her charms to make people happy. The pain she went through in her last relationship was too much to bear.

"Hey, are you okay? You know your front glass door is broken. Did you have a break in?"

Adori looked up from the glass to a man, with brown hair, not much older than she was.

"I can't remember. I blanked out." Adori swallowed.

"Well frankly I was about to make my way down to the Beginning of Summer festival when I noticed. I have the pottery shop across the way. I hope you didn't loose much. Although I must admit, you took away a lot of customers today." He smiled.

"I did?" Adori blinked.

"Wow, they really did a number...do you need to go to the doctor? Did you get hurt?"

"Uhm...no I don't think so." Adori blushed.

"Oh, I'm sorry my name is Masao Keramai. I shouldn't have been so informal, especially under the circumstances."

"Oh its fine! I'm happy someone came around. Frankly I'm at a loss. My name is Adori Ayakai."

"Well if you want why don't I fix that for you. I'm thinking of heading to the festival after...if you think you're okay why don't you come with? It seems like you might need a break."

"I- I-" Adori looked to the empty case. Just like the case, she needed to empty her baggage and move on from her past didn't she? She looked to Maraso and smiled.

"Sure. Sounds fun."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15: Puzzle Pieces Fit, But Only One By On**e

"We're still going to the festival then right?" Mina stretched her arms as they walked from the shop.

"I think it would be nice. A nice change from today…" Lita nodded. They all felt guilty about how easily they were swayed.

"You guys going to come?" Rei asked Michelle, Amara and Trista.

"No, actually we were going to look into this Seedling stuff too a bit." Amara said. "We'll come along some other outing."

"Actually I wanted to do some research…all that stuff that guy mentioned today about our past has me curious." Ami nodded to Amara.

"How about you Serena?" Rei asked.

"Well … I might." Serena nodded.

"You never were the type to pass up a festival?" Darien looked at Serena.

"I know. But it's just not the same if-"

Darien looked to Serena. "Well I'm going to go. I'll apologize to Hana tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she's already called off the course. On the other hand, if you'd rather I didn't go-"Darien said realizing he'd done damage.

"No, no I want you to come!" Serena gleamed.

"Good, we all deserve a good night out." Lita smiled. "You guys sure you want to miss it?"

"We need to look into this stuff. You girls go enjoy yourselves. " Michelle smiled kindly at them.

"Alright! Lets go get out the Kimonos!" Mina led them off the other way.

* * *

"So Ami what did you guys figure out about them so far?" Pluto asked, sitting down in Amara and Michelle's apartment.

"Luna and Artemis believe they're senshi from other dimensions of our universe. We don't know why they seem to have a grudge or where exactly the seeds come from. Sedna, Varune and Ixion are all-" Ami looked on her computer.

"-derivatives of the minor planets of our universe so far."

"What does Minor entail?"

"Well they were deemed as smaller planets, some orbiting around others. This actually includes your planet too Trista." Ami said surprised.

"I knew I was on the outer edge of the solar system already. That's why my job is to protect the gates of time. My powers are best to control it; I was bestowed one of the gifts." They recognized she was speaking of her jeweled staff.

"Well then what do they want?" Michelle looked out into the nighttime cityscape.

"They referred to us as the "guardian" senshi specifically before. They also seem to be aware of our past and the devastation of the Moon. Also they weren't killed or didn't seem to be by Galaxia." Ami listed off most the facts they knew.

"So they were there in the past, and they may have found a way to hide in the present without bringing attention to themselves." Amara speculated.

"Well it's not through the Time Portal. The lock is untouched. I could sense a presence if there was." Trista shook her head.

"They have a grudge. Maybe there was always an outlying ring of planetary senshi's independent from our own." Michelle thought aloud.

"If that's so, we need to figure out what they're hoping to get out of this. If every time they use the Seeds, we heal the people of the Earth, it seems counter productive." Ami looked at her scan of the Seed.

"We have too many questions." Amara shook her head. "What about the mention of "Charon" today?"

Ami looked at her laptop. "Charon…." She said aloud looking through information.

" Charon is the satellite Moon of …Pluto."

They looked to Trista, who looked wide-eyed at them. "Does this mean …I knew this "Charon" in the past?"

"Well, they could be the animal counterpart guardians like Phobos and Deimos …" Amara mused.

"But Luna and Artemis also told us that they were chosen guardians, often people of the Moon, who took on different forms. That doesn't mean he isn't a Senshi. Anyone could have been a guardian for Pluto's Moons." Michelle reminded.

"Then…why is he against us? Whoever Charon is, he is on our enemy team… and yet that man Ixion seemed to make my arrival sound like a grand event that this Charon would want to know about…there's something more." Trista worried on.

"Then if there is we better be careful. We are more intertwined with these enemies than we think." Amara looked off into the sky above the lights of the city and the festival music. For now it was bliss.

* * *

"It's not that easy is it? We women can be heard to tame." Sedna giggled as Ixion looked out over the city through the black glass.

"Not all of you are. Just a precious few." Ixion said rather thoughtfully. "On the other hand don't count yourself as one of the precious dear Sedna, it didn't take long for Varune to hold you down did it?" Ixion looked away from the glass and smirked to Sedna.

"Hmph." She crossed her arms.

"But you didn't have much more luck than we did." Varune entered the room. His icy aura moved through the room.

"It's not luck. Next time, I'll play on their weaknesses. This time I found out who they are…or most of them in their reincarnated human forms." Ixion shrugged. "Actually, where is Charon? Or more so what about Orcus?"

"Orcus has been with Eris for the last while." Charon appeared. His silver hair in its ponytail, bangs covered his left eye partially as he appeared in front of them. The large green hood over his vest made him look reminiscent of the human myths of Charon. But of course he was stoic, and strong. A mage of his type. He was easily as composed as Varune was, but less icy. They all knew his warmer, hidden personality was part of his past – who he used to be.

"Doing what?" Sedna asked.

"Does it matter? Our Lovely Leader's brother died what seems like days not years. Honestly I didn't think Orcus would stand in for him though." Ixion raised his brow. "But if she likes tall, dark, muscular and protective that's it. A little on the intense side but-"

"Her brother was a war leader. If Orcus amuses her, let it be." Varune signed.

"What did you want?" Charon asked Ixion.

"Well… I mean on my own expedition of lust, love and pure amusement, I happened to bump into Sailor Pluto. Funny she didn't seem to remember you…but I mean wouldn't that be fun if you jogged her memory?"

"Leave it alone."

"Oh come on! Sailor Pluto was quite a sight. She hasn't changed. Long dark hair. Red lips. Potent eyes. Tinted skin. She's the epitome of what characterizes the minors like us, and yet you wont even try to get her back? I mean you must be depraved?" Ixion smirked.

"If she hasn't changed, I don't think anything would change." Charon said.

"Ah, but if all we are doing is the trial run for the big Seeding, then why not try to change things now? I know with Psuedia in my grasp, I'm going to have fun with it. Find out which people it works the best on. Find the people I want it to work on. And in the mean time have some fun on this planet. Earth women are quite gullible. Charon you should come out with me and have some fun?"

"I thought you wanted the Moon Princess for yourself? We both failed in that we couldn't sway those we loved or lusted for away from the paths they took." Charon asked.

"I do. But it's a working progress. For now, why not have a little fun in between?" Ixion smiled.

Psuedia. Lies. Deceptions. Illusions.

What better way to have someone question everything then to play with the lies their own mind would create?

The people of this world were having a festival. Let them sit in their lovely splendors, of love, passion, fun and food.

But tomorrow he was in control.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16:It is Only A Dream until the Love Runs Sour**

Ixion laughed.

It was too easy. He stood across from a woman in the darkness, one who was con-ing people in her little shop; A fortuneteller of dreams? He laughed and emerged into the dim lighting of her table, just as a man left the room who seemed to have believed his luck of love had not yet run out. He had however run out of money she'd just taken from him.

" So is that what you really tell people? That dreams have meanings? Give people answers? What about the nightmares then?" He sat down in front of the pale violet haired young woman. Her azure blue eyes did give her the look though. Her glass ball, the starry drapes secluding them from the windows of the store. It was nothing but a look. "Deceptions for a price?" He continued after his once over.

"I do no such thing." She nodded. "Do you want your fortune? What do you dream of?"

"I dream of a world you cannot even begin to imagine as such a human as yourself. You're a con-woman aren't you? I know when true spiritual power is around. I can't sense it on you." Ixion leaned back in the chair, smugly. "I mean I understand. You have an aura of mysticism and beauty, but frankly your just lying to them, Madame _Ayumi_."

"I tell people what they need to hear. Dreams can often be decoded. If they give me a donation that is their - wait did I tell you my real name?"

"Lies. Deception. Quite frankly I don't see the point. As soon as they leave and when what you told them does not happen they're going to come back and you'll be on the line." Ixion leaned forward and touched her wrist. "Plus I'm sure nightmares have all the same significance as dreams…warnings, omens…"

"What do you want from me then? If you're not here to get a reading or to help-"

"Oh, I'm here to help." Ixion lifted his finger and all the candles of the room lit up in amber flame. "You see I'm a bit of a _mystic_ myself, and I can see how to make your little deceptions a little more – real." He leaned in closer to the woman, His face sensually close to hers.

She inhaled as her eyes opened. "How?"

He drew his finger up her chin. "This."

With the other hand he embedded the Seed of Pseudia between his lips and pressed it into hers.

So petty the women of this world where – at the first sight of admiration they were already adorning for a kiss! He saw her eyes flash a color red, as the demon Seed took her over.

It would happen tonight. Tonight the world would reverse itself. All the lies would be told, in the most deceptive of states humans indulge in – the worlds of illusions and chaos – _dreams._  
He looked over the city. What fun it would be to put people into their own minds. Chaos of disillusion. Chaos of lies. The question was: what darkness to emerge from their subconscious … what reality to create when consciousness was not their own?

"I'm really happy we went last night." Serena clutched onto Darien's arm as they sat in the summer heat down by the umbrella-ed tables by the shops. The sun was loosing spot in the sky as the evening closed in.

"It the least I could do after yesterday Serena. I really hope you realize it troubles me more that I always fall victim to these evil ruses that push us apart." Darien leaned back as she sipped on a soda.

"I don't blame you. I really am beginning to think I am a nuisance to you sometimes though…" Serena looked down.

"No, no it's not that. Honestly I think it's that, I used to think the future was so clear. I know I'm meant to be with you Serena, and I know that we will bring a new millennium to the Earth and Solar System of peace… but I realized that there is a lot in between. I don't know how we should be spending it – should we just wait for it to arrive or should we be preparing not just as protectors but also as leaners? I know now that we have a formidable enemy again…but sometimes I wonder what it really means to be the Prince of the Earth…what that responsibility means. I guess I was so concerned with trying to do what was best for the Earth…in terms of focusing on learning, that for a moment I forgot about what it meant to balance relationships too…I guess I'm actually kind of confused by the whole idea. "

"Wow, Darien I didn't know you were so … concerned. Frankly I mean it is my own fault…I don't really think things through as much as you do but-" Serena put her arm behind her head guiltily. "But whatever you decide I will support you!"

"I know you do Serena. Frankly I feel bad that your gift turned out to be such a bad ploy for those Rogue Scouts. I know you meant it."

"Well you paid for dinner so lets call it even." She drank the rest of her soda float.

"It's not hard with you to make even with your love of food and all is it?" Darien laughed.

"Hey, don't tease. I'd choose you over food any day!"

"I'm glad to hear." He smiled. "So what were the scouts doing today?"

"I don't know… Honestly sometimes I feel bad. We always go on dates; but they never get to go out with guys or anything. They're always busy scouting or …well being responsible."

"Yea, Rei's been really been working hard at the temple…and Ami studies a lot doesn't she outside school to become a doctor?"

"Yea, plus Mina…I mean she's always looking for a boyfriend, but kind of like Lita they've always kind of hit a rough patch."

"Well Ami has Greg doesn't she?"

"But he's not here, and I get the feeling their relationship will kind of be at a distance. And Rei really doesn't seem to want to give in around Chad either…"

"Well I'm sure they'll figure it out. If you that concerned, I'm sure you'll be able to help them out one day. When you're the Future Queen you can make sure they make the time too…by then I'm sure they'll all have achieved their own goals."

"Yea, maybe Ami will be a doctor…Rei will have the temple full time…Mina well she'll probably manage to be a star somehow…I mean she was Sailor V before we knew we were scouts…and Lita well she'll become a cook for sure!"

"And they're sailor scouts; they've always been there for you Serena."

"Yea, sometimes I just wonder if there' s someone that they were meant to be with. Like us." Serena leaned on Darien's arm.

* * *

"So what exactly do most people come to you about Ayumi dear?" Ixion looked over the darkened streets with her on his arm.

"Love. Love is always the first. Will I find love? What does this mean when I dreamed about my ex lover? My heart was broken and I lost my love…"

"Hmmm…love is a hard card to play…hard to fight through the illusions of the heart, let alone the illusions of one's mind."

"Most dreams are the deepest of subconscious traits of a being. If they're heart is broken, or is at odds, most people wish to not wake up from those dreams or they find themselves in the darkest of nightmares strewn with breaking someone's heart or regaining a heart they lost." Ayumi's blue eyes were like gaping holes of azure now; she was only partially herself, lost to the demon Seed Pseudia inside.

"Love. It is such a petty thing, and yet when infatuation grows strong enough it seems to call itself that." Ixion bit his own lip. He knew he'd never intended from the start to become obsessive. "So if you put this city under your spell, do you think any of them would actually fall into their own illusion? If you think it meant they would have the chance to relive their own darkest secrets?"

"They would receive the seed of Disillusion? Of course they would. Who else wouldn't want to receive my kiss?"

"I wonder the same thing myself sometimes." Ixion smirked and looked over the city. "Then lets see what happens when they realize the hearts they broke in the past…lets awaken the heartbreak and pain? Lets see who can break through true illusion?"

Ayumi changed her form into Pseudia. She turned into a pale green skinned being, her violet hair turned deep in color, her blue eyes batted, and she looked as if she was half woman half butterfly demon as her wings spanned out to create a kind of illusionary ghostly face on them. Her lips were stained with a black diamond in the middle where Ixion had planted the Seed.

"Goodnight city world. Let's see how well you can decode your own dreams?"

"Just wait, Pseudia." Ixion suddenly stopped her.

"First, I'd like to find a face in this city I know most familiarly now. I want to make sure the moment she escapes from her dream, one I will have you weave, I will have a chance to speak to her alone, amongst a city of lovely nightmare."

"How do you know she will escape my dreams?" Pseudia cocked her head to the side, flying in the air. 

"She escaped another Demon Seed's before you, and I suspect will be the least probable to fall victim to questions of love unless she is brought into dark, dark doubts."

"Shall we find her?"

"Yes." Ixion closed his eyes and called upon his spiritual fire-wheel, His ancestor's sins of fortune granted him this power. As it spun he asked for it to direct him to a girl, a girl he'd seen on the Moon a long time ago. A girl he'd had on his mind on for a long time. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17: This is What Nightmares are Made of**

Serena wondered why she felt so strange when she woke up.

She looked around. She wasn't at home. Her wrist was adorned in gold and her body was in a dress that looked like her appearance as princess Serenity.

She stood up and blinked.

She found herself in a garden on the moon. She felt a familiar sense of loss that the flowers of the moon were often only the pigment of white – color was something that she'd found more of on the earth. A haze covered it. Like a lost memory.

She felt a sense of expectation; a longing to see someone in the garden. Prince Endymion? But …she knew well that he couldn't be here. She had a sense of familiarity in this dream…she felt wide-awake and yet it had to have been a dream.

She turned around, and looked at the white lilies when she felt eyes on her. She raised her head to see a man in the shadows looking at her. His eyes glowing amber. Familiar and yet foreign. She ran towards him out of curiousity only to find that suddenly she was in the familiar setting of the ball on the night before the strike on the Moon of Queen Beryl. The last night she danced with Prince Endymion.

She turned and expected to see his hand. The moment of surprise when he comes in as Tuxedo Mask, she knew it well, and somehow consciously expected it. She wasn't reliving these moments; it was if she was remembering them. Was she awake within her dream? How come she was so aware of it?

Instead she found the hand of a man in a soldier's outfit. Amber eyes. Wavy auburn hair. And a gaze she'd only known until recently.

_It wasn't real_. _I_

_t was a dream._

_There was no way it wasn't Darien. _

_She pinched herself hard._

_ The room froze. _

_She closed her eyes._

_ She wanted to wake up. _

Serna woke up sitting straight up in her bed. Her dream. It wasn't real. It was the man Ixion's eyes that haunted her. What did that mean? She coughed slightly and found that her room was covered in a greenish hazy dust. Luna was sleeping. Even when she got up from her bed Luna didn't awaken like she normally would.

"Luna?"

She called out, likely shaking her bed. Nothing.

She took out her communicator. Nobody was answering.

She swallowed hard and left her room to the streets. The moon was still high in the sky. But the world was quiet. Too quiet.

Could a Demon Seed have been released while they slept? She noticed the faint yellow greenish dust, in the air, sitting on top of everything, like a pixie dust or a thin sheet of pollen.

Something was wrong.

"How are you awake?" A voice hissed.

She turned to see a monster. A green skinned woman, with large butterfly wings that created the illusion of a scary face, with purple hair and red eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done to the city?" Serena exclaimed. She was prepared at any moment to transform.

"Pseudia, I'll do the answering."

Serena noticed the man Ixion had appeared again, stepping in front of the monster.

"So Princess Serenity we meet again." Ixion smiled.

"How do you know all of this?" She stepped back.

"Didn't you dream of me? Don't you understand our group is very much embedded in your past? We didn't just appear. Although the ignorance of it all might make it appear so." Ixion looked relaxed.

"What did you do to-"

"Just Dreams. You see the Seed I had the honor of using on my dear accomplice behind me, was of Pseudia. The demon of illusion and deception. Luckily the human I chose knew much about the illusions of dreams – how awakening lost memories can create realities in dreams that bring the dreamer so far in they'll never get out." Ixion looked to the human version of Sailor Moon. How long would it be before she tried to strike him like all the others had? Before they'd be labeled as evil, and simple enemies. "The deeper in they go the more likely they'll become our little demon minions, akin to the nightmares of their own negligent actions."

"Then why am I awake."

"I told Pseudia if she found a girl that dreamt of the moon…with few regrets…to lay it easy on you." He shrugged.

"Why are you so passive with me and not my friends?"

"You're friends have guilty pasts. You see Pseudia works to awaken a person's nightmares in their own heartbreak – things a person never realized occurred, things they didn't realize they've done to another, until the subconscious was woken. Humans are typical characters; they never see their faults until they are put right infront of them. All have fears of hurting another or being hurt down deep in their hearts, especially the people they have misunderstood or came to love. Pseudia is just awakening them in their dreams."

"But-"

"Your friends, well your friends happened to kill the Shitennou didn't they? They were the cause of their death because, lets be frank, they surely didn't save them like all the other people corrupted by what you like to call "evil" . I mean you must know by now they were once the Generals of the Earth? And that a core three of them fell in love with your scouts way back in the past all because you introduced them when you fell in love with your …wretched lover boy? And here we are, in a new time period when they've been killed by you. Not saved. Killed."

Serena's eyes went wide. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not. We've existed in the shadows, between time, long enough to witness decades of your own mistakes. It was too funny, how you scouts only looked for evil but never thought that your opponents might lie in Scouts much like yourself."

"But Queen Beryl killed them…she killed the-"

"Ah, yes, Beryl. She was fun wasn't she? Well I guess that explains why your masked hero isn't here…"

"What?"

"Beryl used to be a human – she fell in love with your Prince, but your Prince dismissed her so badly for you that she went to Metallia for power. Why do you think she wanted to have him kill you? Basically it's his fault for not treating matters more delicately, that caused the war erupted in the first place…or yours for over stepping your boundaries and traveling here back then…"

Serena stood there stunned.

"Don't look surprised. We've sat around watching all you've done with this "rebirth" thing on this planet. All your friends are realizing part of their consciousness that they couldn't reach- honestly consider it a favor. If they don't awake from it because they can't escape their own blame, then, well blame it on the nature of people to be negligent."

"You act like you're innocent. You can't just through these people's lives away!"

"Hah. Do you know what happens when a person sleep-walks? When the reality they are trapped within coincides with reality? What happens if Sailor Mars thinks she can save Jedite in her dream? But in reality she's fighting against another scout? Or even civilians? If they succumb to the griefs of their nightmares they'll only partially awaken as succumbing to their own demons in the illusion of redemption. They'll all witness the feeling of knowing how it feels to not be able to alter the past. To be stuck and trapped with the actions and inflictions –"

"Why are you so bitter?" Serena stepped back. She needed to change to Sailor Moon, but if she did she wouldn't learn more about them. "Why do you have to do this?"

"Do you really want to know?" Ixion turned to her. "In that case, I'll tell you more about us, if you promise not to try to blow Pseudia into star dust for the moment. Think of it as a stand off. I'm doing you a favor by filling in some blanks…you Moon people were always so one sided." His eyes were piercing.

She knew she had to. They needed to know what they were going up against. But somehow she questioned why Ixion had taken such a liking to her… why he'd made the dream she'd had so specific to him…

"Okay. Ill do it."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18: Beginning to Learn about a Darkened Past**

She was hesitant. But this was the only time she could learn more about them. He landed and walked towards her. Face to face he standed a good foot and a half taller than her.

"Back during the Silver Milennium, I, Ixion was approached by the Moon people to join their army. With the suspicion of war in the air they wanted another person, or senshi with the powers of fire and prediction to help guide the battles, since your Sailor Mars was so focused on protecting the royalty. Told me it could up my status in the hierarchy of the planets…undo my father's ill past. Frankly, back then I couldn't have cared much about it. But one day," He crossed his arms and paused, his eyes darted to her. "I decided to go to the Moon. Check out if it was even worth That's when I saw you in the garden. The porcelain doll Princess Serenity. You always were described as a goddess, but frankly I had to see it to believe it. Funny thing was, afterwards, the men that had hired me, the Moon Morons of the army, laughed at me for even mentioning your name."

"What does this have to do-"

He looked dark as his smirk rose on his face. "I was not even acknowledged as a true _Senshi_. Men can be Senshi too…it's uncommon, but we are an uncommon type. I am the ruler and heir of the Star Seed of Ixion, I am a _Prince_, all the same as any other senshi and I was laughed at. Then I see you with the Prince of the Earth. When it came down to it, I was one of the few of us that turned a blind eye to that battle. I watched the empire crumbled that loomed over us with a cocky eye."

"We never would have done that…"

"No? Well dear, that's the issue. You were the innocent one. I've told the others, but frankly my allies don't see the value in it. Innocent or not they see you as part of the problem. You represent the Moon now so you will pay for it's sins. Now, I'm going to tell you what I think…"

He walked closer to her. She reached for her broach.

"Ah, ah. Not yet. I think, you ought to realize that you think your fighting for the good side, but it's time to realize the good isn't so good and the dark isn't as evil as you'd think. It's not black and white. So, if you decide to come join our side- stand up for the oppressed, well then I'll awaken all your friends before dawn. When dawn hits, if they don't wake up they're stuck in their illusions…for good. Frankly I've hoped you'd place yourself by my side, of course you'd have to denounce yourself as Princess…nobody wants the Moon to rule anymore but-"

"No." She shook her head and stepped back. "Even if what you say is true, destroying everyone else's happiness is not the answer. There's still ways to right our wrongs of our past…"

He caught her hand in his as she tried to get her broach again. "Well then, maybe I'll just let Pseudia put you into a dream where you think I'm your Prince. At least then maybe you can right the wrong of your Kingdom that way…" Ixion's devilishly handsome smile was reflected in her wide blue eyes.

"Let her go!"

Ixion dropped his focus when he saw a raven-haired girl running towards him with an ofuda scroll in her hands.

Ixion leapt backwards up into the air with Pseudia. "So you got out of that too huh? Sailor Mars you were always my comparison, the one chosen over me because your planet was larger and thus believed to be more powerful. You do realize you were the reason your dear Jedite was killed? That clever little jet-plane attack of yours was the reason he was done in in the end?"

"I do. And I'm sorry for it. But I knew that I hadn't intended for anyone to die. We didn't know how deep Beryl's wrath was. But unlike you, my powers of perception are stronger, I could sense the false reality, and Phobos and Demios actually helped me wake up. Maybe one day we can save all the lost souls that died in battle, help them to be reborn, but I'm not about to let you get to Sailor Moon or the rest of us over some spilt milk. That was Beryl's fault for corrupting the world, and it's that darkness in this world that's spread by creeps like you." She explained.

"I always hated you. The one with all the prophetic things to say, things I could have equally have said, except I was on the outside of the circle. A little planet is thought to have little power. You were always the Guardian Scout they compared me to. Fire against fire. You don't really know much about how things spread do you? Quick to ignite the flame, not perceptive enough to wonder what caused it." He sent a wheel of fire bellowing towards her.

Mars tried to counter it with her own Flame Sniper breaking the wheel with the arrow of fire. "Transform now. We need to weaken this guy &amp; his mothball here, and get the others out. Fire won't fight well against fire for long." Mars said.

"Okay." Serena nodded. She transformed right away.

"Fine. If you must do it the hard way and resist… Pseudia make sure we keep these two secured and away from all of the others." Ixion pushed off the ground up into the air, distanced from the sailor soldiers.

Pseudia smiled, and flapped her haunting butterfly wings, and from her hands came a sticky substance, something like the material of a cocoon, wrapping around their wrists and their necks.

"You know if this really gets out of hand, I guess we could have cocooned everyone in that…at least then they could have been a good safeguard against these two…"

"You let me-!" Sailor Moon had one of her hands in the webbing around her neck to trying to keep it from constricting.

"In a feeble attempt to make you see the truth of things…misguided by all of the hodgepodge of good being white and evil being black, and no such thing as grey area. Dear Princess, learn that chances aren't often given twice. How about sending them back into the dream world? I'm sure they'res another fun little nightmare, a subconscious thing of worry that ails your minds…"

"We'll just free ourselves again. We know it's fake." Mars was enraged by Ixion's words. Like she'd just succumb to that again?

"We'll just have to see. I mean really…where are your lover boys now when you need them?" Ixion smiled. When suddenly a two red roses broke the confines of Pseudia's silk.

"What is this?" Pseudia called out.

"Did you really think you could get me twice?" Tuxedo Mask joined the two girls.

"Frankly, yes. They can all blame you for breaking dear Beryl's heart cant they?" Ixion smirked. "Ergo the smudges on the Earth Prince's clean record?"

"Nobody is perfect. I may have done something in my previous life, and I have undoubtedly hurt others before. But I would not change it. I would have been with Serena either way, so if this was the way it turned out then it had to be so. Beryl's decision to look to darkness was her own. I love only Sailor Moon, so nothing can change that. Humans are far from perfect, and we may hurt each other, but as long as it is without malace intent, can you blame us for making mistakes? Without those we'd never learn."

Sailor Moon felt relieved. Mars and Tuxedo Mask were always confident of themselves. She should have known they wouldn't succumb.

"Thanks for the speech, and if your done now. I'm going to leave…but remember Sailor Moon, if you want any chance of existing after we succeed, you better come to realize that you're amongst the proclaimed privledged, and our pasts are much darker then you know. I can't hold a place for you beside me forever." Ixion suddenly disappeared. Pseudia was ready to attack again, beating her wings, as the pollun dust was clouding their vision and making them tired..

"Of course he left. And what they hell did he offer you Serena?"

"Nothing…well I'll have to explain later."

"We need to get rid of this Youma so we can awaken the others!" Tuxedo Mask put his arm over his mouth, and used his cane to stop Pseudia's silk from reaching them.

"I mean what is this thing a huge moth?" Mars covered her mouth with her elbow. They're eyes were darting for it's next attack.

"That might be a good point Mars. It seems to be more like a butterfly…but bugs are attracted to light…if I'm not mistaken." Tuxedo mask gave her a side look.

"A little elimination calls for a little fire then! Sailor Moon, get ready to turn this thing to moon dust once I give it a good burn!"

"Alright." Sailor Moon nodded.

Mars called on her fire to ignite the area infront of her. The dust settled. As Tuxedo Mask predicted Pseudia drifted towards it, her eyes enlargened by her fire.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

Suddenly Pseudia looked up and was engulfed in her arrow's flame.

"Now Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask proclaimed.

"Okay… _Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"  
_  
Suddenly Pseudia became Ayumi again and crumbled to her knees. The Demon seed seemed to disappear into a black portal, always out of their reach as the seeds in the sleeping hearts of Tokyo dissipated as it disappeared.

"So what did he have to tell you Serena?" Mars asked.

"He…well, he uh, he, or they existed back in the Silvermillenium…and he kind of tried to replace Prince Edymion with himself in my dream…and…"

"He's hopeless." Mars shook her head.

"It's not just that, he made it sound as if they weren't really accepted back then, just because they were minor planets… or something…"

"It seems theres a lot of holes in our past, and things we weren't aware of." Tuxedo Mask looked up to the moon. "However, I really don't like him around you Serena."

* * *

"And then my fun ended..." Ixion crossed his arms, proclaiming the end of his reign.

"Didn't go so well?"

Ixion turned to see Charon. "

I don't want to talk about it. I will get her beside me this time if I have to kill that Masked Fool with my own hands."

"It's not worth it. They're disillusioned by their responsibilities. The belief they have to do something noble, even if it kills them." Charon gripped his wooden staff tighter, the large green diamond crystal eliminating the darkened space of their lair.

"Says the man who already was bitten by love…as soon as you give them that Guardian status it all goes to their heads. She's bound to remember you now that it's your turn with the Seeds."

"What did you do?" Charon was suspicious of Ixion's games. He found some kind of amusement because he saw him and Charon as cut from the same cloth considering they both were interested in a Guardian Senshi.

"Well considering I awoke everyone's subconscious with Pseudia, she might remember you she might not…in her dreams of love. However I'd be terribly jealous if you walked away with her by our side, while I remained stumped against the Prize of them all."

"Don't count on it."

"Bitter still huh? Fair enough I understand. But Pluto was originally one of us, until they bestowed on her another tens of decades of protecting the passage of time. If I were you I'd use those Demon Seeds to your advantage. The moment our dear little leader breaks them all out, is the moment our past will be exposed to those Guardian Scouts, as well as the secrets about the way their little perfect world of the past was corrupt. Maybe we ought to just use a demon seed on them…then maybe they would fall for us." Ixion droned on.

"It wouldn't be real."

"Oh don't be so uptight. Plus Limos will be fun to play with. Honestly if you won't use it to it's fullest and darkest potential hand it over to me.

"No, I'll go do it myself."

"That's the spirit Charon. I know you've been the most passively involved since you were…rejected more or less. Honestly rejection motivated me and nullified you, but you ought to use it to empower you. Make it clear to them that things need to change. It would be awfully nice to have a female companion after this demon seed outbreak is finished don't you think?"

"When do you ever not have a female companion Ixion?" Charon shook his head, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Ah a temporary fix is all they are. I want something more sustainable."

"Oh yes, our enemy right? That sounds truly sustainable. A priveldged princess who can't see through her own moon dust." Sedna butted in, emerging from the shadows..

"Oh dear Sedna, go take out your anger on Varune. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Ixion smiled cunningly.

"I'm sure he wouldn't . He's the only man in this place who actually is sustained with an actual worth while companion in this place." She passively took in his suggestive words, looking at her nails.

"I wouldn't say so. Orcus has still been spending much of the time in our Mistress of Discord's chamber." Narune enters, his voice passive and deep. "However I would not complain."

"If you can manage to bring the girl to our side, hah, what a sight that would be." Sedna laughed mockingly.

"I will, or I will find a way to-"

"You sound exactly like that Prince Diamond did. Did you see how he ended Ixion?" Sedna walked in circles. She was like a siren ready to lure Ixion's in her dangerously worded wrath.

"I'm not about to stand in the way of our goals for it. He was a fool anyway." Ixion looked passive to Sedna now, trying to ignore her butting in.

"What will you do if you can't do it…" Charon said absently, looking uninterested.

"Well since Sedna here is so interested, I guess maybe she'll just have to spread herself around? She seems open to bragging all the same?"

"You're quite the talker Ixion." Varune put his own staff out in front of Sedna. She laughed at Ixions feeble attempt.

"Your no angel Sedna." He smirked, barely off put by Varune.

"I'm leaving." Charon said, sick of watching their games.

"Go get her Charon. Bring me back one too." Ixion said.

Charon left without another word.

"Your playing with fire Ixion." Orcus came out. His large tanned build, was muscular. His vest was dark blue and protective shoulder gear was grey with spikes sticking out. His hair was black. He had a youthful and chiseled appearance, and his hair stood up on end, in the back. His voice however was edgy and sharp. Deep. He was always the physically strongest of them

"When do I not play with fire?" Ixion said, taking it as his cue to leave. He was sick of the scrutiny. Maybe he would return to earth disguised as a human and find temporary amusement elsewhere.

"Have fun?" Sedna asked to Orcus.

"Your going to talk about Mistress of the Night like that?" Orcus looked to her, and eyebrow raised.

"No, not in that way. We're all happy she's come a further since her brother's death." Sedna retracted her words.

"Orcus, she means no harm. We simply didn't expect it is all. We're happy for her. She's given us a chance to redeem the name sake of our planets against our suppressors."

"Hm." Orcus nodded. "So Ixion is still…" He crossed his arms looking at the world below them.

"Hung up on the fragile princess, just as we all know Charon is, and will never be, over his guardian woman." Sedna looked down from their ship over the earth.  
To that world they were invisible, a chameleon in the sky. From there, She and her allies could see everything.

"Maybe it would be best to separate them. If we can take one of their own and bring them to our side… it would break apart their perspective that they are indeed the innocent ones…" Varune speculated.

"It won't be long. After Charon, our Mistress of Discord is going to invite them here." Orcus knew his roll would to be to have them fight the Seeds of Discord she'd given him head on. He'd make sure they understood her powers before they would have the chance to reach her chamber.

It had been far too long. They would hear everyone's story, and the minor's would bring them to their own judgment day…to face their past in the face of the ones they'd previously suppressed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19: Speculations**

"Okay, scout meeting. What the hell is up with these Senshi?" Rei asked clearly aggravated by their last encounter, as they sat inside the temple.

"They're really harsh. I mean we'd totally forgotten about our past with the Shittenou…and then to make it seem like it was only our fault? I mean, Beryl had them so twisted and evil. I can't imagine…" Mina blushed at her memories of Malachite. At the same time she was conflicted. Clearly the past would not be repeated as simply as it had existed back on the Moon.

"Tell me about it. I mean Nephrite was one of your first enemies…" Lita bit her lip.

"Yea and he liked Molly…I mean…this is so twisted…" Rei shook her head.

"Hey, what about you Amy?" Serena asked.

"Honestly? Well…it was about Greg. Apparently in the past I was the one who pointed Greg out in a crowd, and because of it he saw one of Beryl's spies back on Earth, right before the Shittenou were turned dark…in tern he was swarn to secrecy…apparently it was his loyalty to the Moon and the Earth that caused the Queen Serenity to place of one of the silver crystal pieces in him…"

"Wait? Are you saying that the silver crystal shards were put in people we knew in the past?"

"I think people who were trusted… I mean if Greg existed in the past and was reborn now, I could see why…but again, I met him then, and basically I was the one who made him noticeable. It was my fault he was targeted…"

"No, it wasn't. It was because he's a good person. And if he hadn't been maybe you wouldn't have ended up getting together with him like you did now…See, they're trying to awaken these demons in us, and they're all circumstancial. I'm not saying we're better than others, but most of us have done the things we've had to do for a reason…not because we'd made evil or bad choices." Rei shook her head. "That's why I refused to get caught in the idea that it was my fault Jedite had died? That was Beryl's doing. She used all of them for her own gain until they weren't worth it anymore."

"Yea, and Beryl's evil nature shouldn't have been blamed on Darien's conscience." Michelle shook her head. Darien nodded and looked to Serena, who made a small nod, looking concerned.

"We've all done things in our past. Michelle and I tried to go against you Serena…we've played borders and made dangerous decisions a lot…all the same, Rei is right. We made those decisions for a reason, not because we intended harm. We have to make them to make sure the Earth and everywhere else in our solar system survives these attacks." Amara crossed her arms, leaning on the doorway.

"Are you okay Trista?" Amy noticed her silence.

"Yes…I'm just afraid of something. Serena, what did that Ixion say to you about our past?"

"Oh, well uhm…mainly that they existed in our past with us…and they were belittled…and that they hold a grudge against us…" Serena's mind hadn't escaped from the thoughts of Ixion's determination to convince her that they were to blame for something.

"And did he know you then?"

"He said he saw me…but he was segregated because of his status as a minor planet Senshi…or something like that…" Serena bit her lip. Ixion had been all too familiar with her. That was hard to bring to mind.

Trista nodded. "Then I'm afraid I may have a past too with one of these minor Senshi."

"Is it that Charon guy mentioned before?" Amara looked to Trista.

She nodded. "My dreams…they seemed foggy. But there was some kind of bitterness in the air… I can't put my finger on it, but it's not the same as the other enemies…I feel like I knew him personally…and yet his face isn't clear…"

"Can we really call them Senshi though? They don't appear the same as you guys?" Darien asked.

"They may not take a on a full Senshi form, but if you remember, some of Galaxia's Senshi she employed did not have the exact uniform you all do. You are Guardian Senshi of the Moon and the Silver Crystal…these Senshi also seemed to have used dark powers to enhance their abilities…which seem to be coming from their resentment towards us and their strive to awaken the demons in humans." Luna advised.

"This reminds me of the pandora's box theory…" Amy said putting her hand to her lip thinking hard.

"The what?" Lita asked.

"Pandora's box. It's a Grecian myth that there was once only good in the world until a woman named Pandora opened a box which let out all the demons into the world. In fact most of Grecian and Romanian myth seems to be somewhat linked to our own planetary powers. I've always had the suspicion that we, or our ancestors may have been the gods that they once honored."

"Us? Gods?" Serena looked baffled.

"Well…Neptune is the god of the water and the oceans…Pluto is the god of death…Mars is the god of war…" Darien listed off the ones he knew.

"Some of it fits." Amy nodded. "Selene was their Moon goddess, and it's not that far from your name Serena. And Helios was the god of the sun, and his golden power seems close to that in theory. Artemis was a hunting and moon goddess, which makes sense because he did have to hunt us down to be awakened as scouts with Luna but-"

"Hey, don't make fun. I'm 100% male cat here." Artemis

"So what does this have to do with our new enemy?" Mina asked.

"I'm not sure exactly. But I will do some research on the other minor planets." Amy shook her head.

"Rei, how come you're the only one with the guardians of your moons still around?" Lita asked.

"Phobos and Deimos? No clue." She shrugged. "They just kind of showed up. After I became Sailor Mars, I just had a kind of sense about them."

"It may have been that Rei's spiritual powers were strong enough to drive them to her. I wouldn't doubt that some of the other guardians exist and we have yet to awaken them. I can't say Luna or I recall all of them…the past will never be entirely clear to us unfortunately." Artemis sat down.

"Isn't it strange though? Each one of these Senshi have a different Demon Seed…where are they getting them from? I mean do they have some kind of ring leader whose pulling these strings?" Lita guessed.

"They probably won't let us close enough to find out. But it seems orchestrated…your right Lita." Rei nodded.

"We won't get all our answers until they let us in…which is dangerous because not knowing puts us at a disadvantage." Michelle shook her head.

"I don't like it." Amara looked agitated. They all agreed in silence.

This was a puzzle with too many pieces missing, and they were loosing time.

-

"So what do you plan to do so differently? Somehow they've over come our own strikes against those humans." Varune asked Charon.

"I'm not going to let it seed in a human. I'm going to let it overcome a smaller organism, that way it can't be just healed."

"Hmm…I see what your saying. The seed will be able to overcome the organism, because of it's lack of consciousness. However, Ixion is terribly fixed on our enemy. I don't doubt you will be tempted to sway Pluto jus the same." Varune said. His calm yet dominant demeanor was never overbearing with him.

"Not to the point of forgetting what we sat out to do. I'd rather watch this world of illusions of goodness break. Maybe then they'll all see what I once saw." Charon remembered the conversation he'd had like yesterday.

"We all saw it. They however chose to ignore it because they were on top. If you can bring them down to our level…then we'll have the chance to change that. Good luck." Varune turned away leaving Charon alone again. Varuna knew Charon was too calm. He stayed on the outskirts of their group because he'd hated turning against Pluto. But Charon was more careful then Ixion. If it came down to it, he'd rather see Charon succeed.

Charon looked at the two Seeds floating in his hand. She'd entrusted him with two of the more sly and powerful demons.  
Varune and Charon had previously known each other before their decision to reject the Moon and the Hierarchy that had once existed in the Silver Millennium. They both had encountered each other in the past; their orbits intertwining as Charon orbited Pluto as the guardian of her moon, Varuna had once orbited Neptune, his primary rival.

Orcus on the other hand, was always against his inability to get over Pluto and their past together. For lack of better word he was Anti-Pluto, and only pro their lovely senshi leader. He'd also been in rival with Pluto so his words never meant much to Charon – too bias for any good advice.  
Ixion…well Ixion was hot headed as ever. As confident as his planet was redr, loved to stand out and be bold. He never cared much about Pluto until he found a similarity in his own circumstances; which were weak. Ixion never had a past with the Moon Princess…he was as infatuated as all get out for her. However he also knew that Mars was close with the Princess which also made him uneasy.

Charon shook his head. For himself, this wasn't infatuation. This was betrayal, this was ignorance, and this was his own attempt at freeing a bird out of a cage. This was his own attempt to break through the blinders of the Guardian ideology that Pluto had once blinded herself with. He couldn't just give up.

He was stubborn underneath his appearances to everyone else that he didn't care. He couldn't let go. But he wouldn't let it stop himself from breaking that glass. That illusion.

He looked to the demon seed Ate.

On the other hand, maybe Ixion was right. Maybe he ought to reveal more. Try again. Maybe this time things will be different.

Or maybe Ixion was just rubbing off on him. Since when did his work become an invite to entice the more tricksters of demon seeds to act, especially on his own terms?

I guess this would be a new experience for himself. Maybe Mistress Eris gave him these on purpose. He always knew she was more clever than she'd let on.

All the same, it was time.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 20: Trickster Demon and a Desert Rose**

"What is going on today?" Mina said as she sat with Serena in her living room.

"What do you mean?" Serena yawned, dozing from a nap. She sat up on the couch.

"Look at the television. There's been three accidents. One at a cross walk. One of the persons claimed to have gotten fired from work only to be reprimanded for missing their shift. And look at the call in's during the segment – people are complaining of similar issues. And somebody just got arrested for stealing in a store, but denied it happened…but they have footage…well that's not weird…but still…that's a lot of crime in one day." Mina shook her head.

"What is this world coming to?" Luna shook her head in unapproval.

"How about some fresh air?" Artemis asked. "It's tiring being cooped up all day."

"Fair enough." Mina nodded. "Come on Serena. Maybe we'll end up at the arcade." She winked.

"I'll take it. Anything for a distraction!" She got up and followed.

"That Ixion guy still on your brain?"

"That and all the other issues. I wish they'd just tell us what they're up to. I just want to enjoy my summer. Especially now that Darien is back." Serena sighed.

"Well we can stress about it later." Mina grabbed her purse. "I want to shop and then we will de stress with some good old Sailor –Me, or Sailor-V video games should I say." She smiled wide.

Serena nodded and followed out.

"So, I was thinking, maybe I should get a new sundress…I could really go for a date after all of this stuff is over. Or whenever I get a good catch!" She smiled as they walked past the shops.

"Is it because of yesterday?" Serena smirked.

"What? No…I mean Malachite was back then. Now that the memories were back it kind of feels weird. But still, it's a different time now… we're going to be somewhere here, in the future protecting you. I don't think it means I can't at least have a boyfriend or two too along the way." She gleamed. "I just wonder how much I have to spend…" She went to open her purse when-

"Hah!" Someone grabbed it and ran.

"What ? What is this? Police!" Mina called out.

"No, look Mina! I think that was the police!" Artemis said, as the man looked to be in uniform.

"Let's go!" She ran after the culprit with the others following close behind.

"There he went!" Luna said. "The alley way!"

"I think It _was_ a cop Artemis!" Mina said.

"How?" Serena panted slightly.

"Lets go investigate!" Artemis headed them off to the alley way.

"You're cornered now!" Mina said. It was dead ended, but covered in shadow.

"It's not good to be stealing purses from young women! Especially as an up keeper of the law! In the name of-"

"Not now Serena…" Luna sighed whispering.

"Sorry got carried away." She laughed nervously.

"Give it back now!" Mina walked over when she swore she saw the silhouette change shape. She walked up to the man to find a young girl clutching the purse with wide eyes. The girl…looked like the young girl she'd saved from the bus youma that one time…

"Sorry!" She said feebly and tossed the purse back. Mina swore she saw a glimpse of demonic eyes as she passed by in a run out onto the street..

"What was that?" Serena asked.

"That man changed to a young girl…I can't explain it." Mina said clutching her purse.

"Those eyes…" Serena said.

"You saw them too?" Mina asked.

"Do you think it could be…" Luna asked.

"It might explain all of the strange criminal behavior. But how can someone shape shift…even if a Demon Seed took over… I don't …I don't want to think they're powerful enough to change a person's sex…or age…" Mina looked worried.

"Lets go back into the light. Maybe we should call the scouts and get on this quick." Artemis motioned.

* * *

"So you took my advice?" Ixion appeared before Charon, standing just over the building.

"I only am letting the demon do what it pleases."

"Those girls are scouts. Blond, blue eyed guardian goddesses…pains in the ass too." Ixion sighed. "Then do me a favor?"

"Why should I?" Charon looked unamused.

"Since when did you get so bitter? Do yourself a favor and find your little Pluto, and use it to your advantange. All the same it saw Serena, so let it … shift and act out a little something she'd hate to see… maybe-"

"I see where you're going. You're relentless. You'd probably only get bored of her after the chase is over." Charon's silver hair, brushing over his eye, contrasted his tanned skin, but mirrored his cold stare.

"Let me worry about that. Now, teleport your butt over to Ate and do me that favor. I did spill a few beans to Pluto for you." Ixion suddenly disappeared.

Charon leaned on his staff. The green diamond shaped crystal, point cut, pulsed as he tapped the ground. He reminded himself never to do favors for Ixion…or have Ixion help him so he owed him. On the other hand, screwing with the sailor scouts was part of the job description.

* * *

"Are you sure that actually happened?" Lita asked.

"Positive. Serena you believe me right?" Mina said, as they met at a corner by the shops with the rest of the group.

"Hmm…I'm going to call Michelle and give her the heads up. Trista is staying in town now, so all three of them can be on the look out." Ami took out her phone.

"I feel bad for her. If she really is involved at all with one of these guys. Plus…her gig is complicated too. For her to stand away from the portal…" Rei shook her head.

"Yea, and the weird part is she can't remember? Hasn't she been around longer than us?" Serena asked.

"Yes, but if you remember your Mother Queen Serenity, basically hit the reset button on all of the Moon. She was likely fighting in that battle. She may not have been reborn exactly but I think theres a good chance that time period is hazy. Am I right Luna?" Ami asked, looking up from her phone.

"I deffinately agree. On the other hand, if this thing can shape shift, we have to be aware that any person who stands out in the wrong way could be our demon."

"This is getting complicated. Maybe I'll be able to sense it…" Rei speculated.

"Yea, maybe..what do you think Serena?" Lit asked. "Serena?"

Serena was looking over across the street. She'd drifted to window shopping when she spotted them. She was looking at a couple. The man had walked over, he was tall with dark hair, looked like he had some facial hair from what she could tell in passing, and the woman was at the corner. The way she stared at him was …so beautiful. She wanted more moments like that with Darien.

They kissed, and she felt almost like she was impeding on a private moment.

"They're cute aren't they?" Mina said catching her drift.

"Mhm…" Serena smiled. Suddenly the man turned the girl around wrapping his arms around her, when she saw it.

"…Darien?" She looked wide eyed. They suddenly walked off together into a crowd. "Did…Did you see..that?"

"No way that was him. I don't believe it." Lita shook her head.

"It did look like him though." Rei bit her lip.

"He wouldn't-" Serena shook her head.

"No, you know that's not right. But I do have a hunch." Luna said.

"What's the idea?" Ami asked.

"Mina, what did the child look like to you? Anyone you recognized?" Luna asked.

"Yea, remember that Bus demon high-jacking? I saved that girl who changed her favorite Scout to Venus after seeing me kick butt…but what are the chances?"

"I see what you're saying Luna. Maybe it changes form depending on a person's recognition of it." Artemis speculated.

"I bet when I looked in it's eyes it red mine and took on that identity."

"So it can read our minds?" Serena looked distraught. She took out her phone to call Darien, and stepped aside.

"Something strange like that…that's dangerous." Lita shook her head.

"So really any one of us could be the thing right now…" Mina wondered.

"Well not exactly, we saw Darien …or presumably fake Darien while we were all here. Considering none of us moved, and we believe theres only one demon at play…we're originals here. We'll have to depend on facts that only we would know about eachother to make sure we're really who we say we are." Ami explained.

"I hate these demons. This just made our weekend way too rotten." Reid complained.

* * *

"They think they've found another one." Michelle got off the phone and turned to Amara in their apartment.

"That wasn't long. What's the catch?"

"Shapeshifters. All those accidents today. Apparently, Mina was robbed by a cop, who by some strange occurrence, ended up looking like a small girl she'd saved once as Sailor Venus. Then Serena saw Darien with another girl… the thing is he's not answering his phone. I wonder if they are actually going after us all now. That would be a rotten way to set us against each other. I just hope he didn't get seeded."

"Darien? Cheating on Serena? I doubt it. Actually I don't believe it. " Amara shook her head. "Those too already have a future together, so I'm with you on that one. It's definitely a trap. So they're playing games now?"

"It could be. They told us to keep an eye out. I'll send Pluto a message to look out for a shape-shifter or anyone who looks possessed…these rotten events could be coming from seeded beings…and a single ringleading demon… someone is causing a fuss on the streets." Michelle sent off a message.

" This time I think we should all be there. It's about time we ask them some questions. Maybe this time we can stop who ever is ring leading this one." Amara looked to Michelle cross.

"Well at least Sailor Saturn is still in submission. She hasn't awoken yet, so the future isn't that grim." Michelle sighed.

"I just hope it stays that way." Amara looked out onto the streets.

* * *

Trista received the call.

"Darien cheating on Serena? I don't believe it either. Okay...okay I'll keep an eye out on my end. Ill make sure my communicator and cell phone are on. I may have already witnessed it unknowingly this morning. Keep me posted."

So there was a shape shifting demon around? She'd seen a strange event already this morning when a cross walk man nearly let kids go onto the road during a green light without stopping traffic. It wasn't nearly as bad…it could have been a fluke.

She left her apartment and nearly turned into someone.

"Sorry…" She said.

"Trista."

That voice. She looked up to see Darien. He looked frazzled.

"What's going on? Wheres Serena?"

"Serena thinks that she saw me kissing someone today. You've got to convince her otherwise. I can't find them and she wont answer her phone to talk to me." Darien said.

She looked at him. That wasn't what Michelle had said about it. She said Serena was trying to get ahold of him and couldn't.

"We think it's a Demon Seed attack. Did you get Seeded Darien?" She thought she saw his eyes flash red for a moment.

"No…you're the only one I can depend on Pluto…I can't find them...please, my Desert Rose…"

She stood stone cold in her tracks. _Desert Rose…_ That name… Darien never called her that. That sounded strange from his mouth. No…that was a name she had been called…a long time ago…familiar…

"You're not actually Darien!" She said and moved out of the way. She transformed automatically. "Tell me how you know that nickname."

Suddenly his eyes turned red, and instead a female looking creature that looked something like a lizard with changing colors scales looked at her. It had a large mark of the red face that normally only look over the entry wound of the seed. This time it nearly covered the whole chest.

"What are you?"

"KakoDaimon Ate, I've taken over a host and consumed it completely. Your Earth creatures are fascinating. And master Ixion told me of that name." Her voice sounded slippery. Reptilian.

"Where is he?" She said holding her rod infront of her.

"Ixion is not here. I'm surprised he remembered that I used to call you that. If he were I'd transport him to the farthest corner of the world for doing such a thing. I was naive to think he wouldn't interfere this much."

"Where is the real Darien?" She couldn't find the location of the voice.

"We tried to seed him. He's struggling with it at the moment. That is why Ate can't hold on to his appearance for very long. It wasn't hard to look into your pasts and see who would be the easiest to corrupt and put against you."

"So you know our past? How did you hide all this time…"

"We didn't emit dark powers. We're senshi just as yourself. I'm not even a full senshi, but I do know that … that the way this is…is not right."

"Who are you? Why did you call me that name?" She said trying not to divert her eyes from the demon.

Suddenly someone appeared in front of her through a greenish portal of light. He was tanned like her, his silver hair brushed over his chiseled face, pulled back into a ponytail.  
His green cape covered his shoulders and hooded around, not extending farther than his breastbone or shoulder bones. His vest under revealed a scar on his chest. His staff looked of a blackened wood, thin, with a large green diamond shaped jem hanging like a lantern from it. His eyes…seemed to look through her. Not at her.

Something about him. Something…

"Charon. Previous Protector of the Moon orbiting Pluto." He looked away. "I once called you Desert Rose." His words seemed edged, hard to release into the air. Forced. Resentful...painful maybe?

"Why … why are you the _previous_ … what's going on here?"

"I knew you'd forget. Reborn like everyone else who thoughtlessly died. I would have stayed with you for eternity at the Time Gate…" He suddenly threw something at her.

A ring with a garnet on it. It looked like her's...like it matched her choker almost…something she hadn't seen in the current era…

She opened her eyes. "The …the battle on the Moon…"

"Remembering now?" Charon asked. "Eris used to hate you. Them and most of the other minor family of Eris always did because they should have enherited a place as Guardian Senshi next. But instead…you got it. And I remember, for as long as I can, you suffering. Being given the left over position of the Lonely Senshi... In the end I heard how much everyone pitted you. They allowd me to spend time with you if I provided portals to aid inter-planet travel. I wish I hadn't. It was the same portal that led that Moon Princess to her Prince. For that war …the war that you decided to partake in even though they'd done nothing for you. I couldn't watch you die."

"How…how did you know I would die? Only I can travel through time..."

"Eris' brother foreshadowed it all. Ixion would claim that he saw it coming too. But you'll hear about that much later. It doesn't matter. That's not even the beginning of it. After all I did for you…after I took a blow from one of the spies for you…after you saw how dangerous it would be…you still wanted to protect and go to war. And not even soley for that Princess either was it?" Charon didn't like seeing her again. He couldn't stop the words. It had been decades, too much time had past, and he had to fill in every void.

"…why wouldn't I save Serena? That was my duty." She said. It was coming back in haze. Memories of him.

"Duty? Or free will? I don't know how much you wanted to...like you said. Most of the time it's part of the job. But it you once explored the portals too...they were mine. We shared secrets, moving in and out between places then. Moved through time on jobs. That's when you saw him. Before the Princess did. That prince of the Earth…why every women found him so compelling I don't know…but it's what caused Beryl to strike, and what caused you…deep down to fight. You were too self-sacrificing. You knew he fell for the Moon Princess and you still decided to fight for their happiness. But you didn't care what would happen if you died? You never took the time to think about how I would feel…and just like that I suddenly hated roses. You showed me what they looked like; we'd only seen them in books, after you came back. You said they were all over that prince's castle." He sighed in frustration before returning to a calm and composed self. She noticed how he wasn't menacing, but more passive, more irritated, more broken. "But you still were a Desert Rose to me…a rose that wouldn't have the chance to ever fully bloom…that was subject to isolation and desolation. That's why I wanted you to stop. To give up your place. To join us…we're fighting for equivalence. I wanted nothing more than to stop you on the eve of that attack…but it would have been in vain. I was already weak from being slashed. That scar…those scars haven't healed…"

"Charon…" She said, her memories returning. She saw his chest. The day a Spy had try to strike her one day after infiltrating the portal to the Time Gate. He'd stopped her from getting hit. She couldn't believe it. After all this time…Charon, her guardian from the Moon... "I didn't understand…I can't just...does it have to be like this?"

He looked away again. "I renounced my affiliations with the Moon…after…I couldn't stay as your guardian. I couldn't find you. When you awoke…on Earth… I knew like everything else…you wouldn't remember. Many of your guardians remain on this Earth, unawakened. But you never remembered them did you? Who knows, maybe they're all stuck here in their animal forms…unawakened…maybe even slaughtered by now…" Charon didn't say this in malice, but rather in regret.

"Then join us and help us awaken them."

"That is what you have to say? Have all of your memories returned? Because you don't see it all from the outside. You must not remember everything then. The scouts didn't even know or see much of you, let alone visit you in the past. No, you deserve more. I wont stand around and protect and Empire that is full of illusions of equality and love. Maybe we'll face an agreement one day, but for now Pluto, I don't think you need a guardian on your moon. You seem to be happy on your own." He turned away.

"I won't let you get away." She said shakily as she knew she had to stop them from doing more damage. But at the same time, it hurt her to see him walk away. Something hurt inside knowing she'd lost someone who used to care for her.

"What will you do? Kill me. If you do, at least know, I died trying to stand up for you twice. All I got in return was regret… I won't try to sway you like Ixion tries to sway Sailor Moon. You know what happened now… I can't force you to see things as they are. But at least with me you wouldn't be alone…" Charon couldn't handle seeing her again. He disappeared again in a green portal of light with Ate before he actually had to face or fight her. That was the last time he trusted Ixion...never would he take that man's advice.

Pluto stood there. She didn't even try to strike? But neither did he...What was she to do? Charon…she'd remembered…everything. She wished she hadn't. Now it just burned. It's true, she'd once been infatuated with the idea of the Earth Prince…but she'd long decided that it was an unfulfilling pursuit. She'd left that part of her in the past. She'd hadn't had feelings for him since...maybe admiration, but it ended there. She'd forgotten that she'd had someone else beside her back then…someone she'd overlooked.

She'd have to figure this out after. She needed to make sure Darien was okay, so he could go to Serena and the others. She took out her communicator.

"Everyone, Darien has been hit by a seed somehow. I believe he is okay, but help him first. I will go ahead to try to track…track down…" She choked. She shook her head. "Look. It's a Chameleon kind of demon, and can take the form of anyone it infected with a seed. I assume the seeded also take on trickster like in an attempt to ruin the peace. I'll go after it. Focus on making sure nobody else we know got seeded."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21: A White Sheep Amongst the Black Sheep, And One Black Amongst the White**

"DARIEN!"

Sailor Moon and the Scouts opened the door to his apartment. She ran in first.

She saw him on his bed. His face was bruised slightly. He was shaking, clutching his head with one hand,and his chest on the right side with the other.

"Darien! Are you okay?" Sailor Moon noticed the wound, that looked like a Seed was only half emerged and somewhat un-attatched.

"I-I keep blanking out. I tried to stop them-Ixion…they hit me from behind-they know who we are. They can find us-"

"Who?" Sailor Mars came in behind Sailor Moon, the others following.

"Ixion and some other guy... Ixion was pressuring him to get the Demon to try to seed me. I tried to heal myself and stop it, but I didn't have a chance to change or get away." He clutched his chest. "I'm trying to resist it. If I let it take me over…. I don't want to do anything else to hurt you. I can resist this one-I don't see the point in creating mischief…but its hard..." He said, grunting as he tried to resist.

"Don't worry. I'll heal you right now." Sailor Moon said desperately, as calmly as she could. She used her Scepter to heal him. It didn't take as much energy to destroy it, but he seemed a bit more weakened from the struggle itself.

"You're lucky he has such a strong heart. He may have succumb once before Serena, but we all have our faults." Neptune said calmly as he came too again.

"I can't forgive them for this." Sailor Moon said, as she took his hand as he sat up.

"What did they do exacty?" He asked.

"They made it look like you were cheating on Serena. That monster has some serious copy-cat abilities." Venus shook her head.

"It was that Ixion guy again? He's got a serious problem. I'd love to burn him to a crisp." Mars said.

"Someone else was with him…I think, it might have been that Charon one he refered to…" Darien said trying to get up.

"No, please rest! You were trying to fight it. That probably took a lot out of you." Sailor Moon said.

He got up and took a breath out. "Ill be fine."

"If that was Charon…do you think that's why Pluto said she'd go on her own to track down the demon?" Uranus asked suspiciously, slightly more directed to Neptune.

"You don't think she would?" Mercury asked.

"I'm afraid she might have. She seemed distraught about it." Neptune bit her lip.

"He seemed less pushy than Ixion did. Still…I don't doubt he'd use that demon to his own advantage." Darien breathed out finally feeling together again.

"How did everyone already get seeded without us knowing?" Jupiter asked.

"When it can hide as anyone... as soon as it knows one person's identity it seems to be able to network in with the people it knows. This could have been going on under our noses all weekend and just came to fruition today." Mercury presumed.

"Then lets go and see if we can find Sailor Pluto. I don't want to leave anyone else alone with that monster." Sailor Moon said. Darien looked better now. "Don't exert yourself please." She said.

"I won't. Don't worry about me Serena." Darien said. He knew what he was going against now. Tuxedo Mask wasn't about to sit around in the background after that.

* * *

"Why did you come after me again? Don't you care that your Princess' suffering for her Prince?"

"That is Sailor Moon's burden..." Sailor Pluto felt pressure. She cared but she couldn't let this go just yet. "I won't let this go on. I care…but not the way you presume I do…" Pluto said. "Where is the demon?"

"I let it go do it's own thing. Mainly I told it to find the rest of them. Most of the town succumbs to it so easily...I never really expected it to go this way so soon..." Charon said.

"What do you plan to do? Kill the other scouts?" Pluto held her staff protectively. "You're not this bitter are you? …you couldn't…"

"No. Make them suffer. Just as we did." Charon shook his head. He didn't like how she still expected more of him; as if he was easier to overcome than Ixion or the others because she thought she knew the old him now. Frankly he wasn't even sure what he expected of the whole encounter with her again. "I don't think you have the right to judge me about how bitter I may be."

"How could you wish that on them when you hated the feeling yourself?" Pluto reasoned. "This was my mistake. Don't blame them-"

"I know it seems wrong. But you don't understand…I wish I could bring you back to the past to see it all..how it happened...what I did, what we all did... It is their fault. It was everyone's fault for sitting back and not acting on change. I wish I had the time to explain it all fully to you Pluto I do…but I'm sure the day is coming soon when you will understand." Charon turned to leave.

"What if I want to understand now?" Pluto pleaded.

"You couldn't. You already proved so…" He sighed. "I wish what I did wasn't all in vain but I don't know how else to show you. You were alone. For so many years. I tried to be there for you whenever I could but I had to protect your own planet at the same time because you were never there. We all had that responsibility, but you never returned because they'd bestowed on you a curse disguised as a gift. You were left, and I hated to see you like that. Even when you had eyes for…the Earth Prince back then, I couldn't stand to watch you do nothing about it. You looked at the world from the outside in, while they went to parties and balls, trained and advised in luxery. Pluto, let them bestow another scout with your responsibility. It can be done…"

"I'm sorry, Charon. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I don't feel for him anymore…I couldn't. If I ever really did, then I wasn't really in love. It was just infatuation of the eyes. I want to fix it. I just don't see how...I can't just give up what I gave an oath to do...I want to change things I'm not sure how..." Pluto pleaded.

"I can't answer that for you. I'm sorry." He left again without another word.

She fell to her knees. Was this what it felt like? To care for someone, and hurt so bad because of it? In…her dreams…the ones the last Demon had given her had awakened skewered lost memories of what she'd just recalled… it was Charon she remembered. It was him serving her, him causing her to smile, watching him get brutally hit by one of Beryl's youma warrior's. Then making the decision to banishing anyone from entering through a portal...removing his cause. She made him leave after and closed off any way for him to get hurt protecting her. He saw it as rejection of a different kind. She'd only done it to keep everyone safe. At one time isolation was the easiest way to keep herself and everyone she cared for safe.

There was no way she could let this sit this way. But, she couldn't succumb… she cared for the other scouts, and for Rini…but…the past, back then she was alone...it was true..what he'd said. She was never quite as privileged. But she'd signed up for it. She'd let the Moon gift her with an exception from age…and with that, an increase in power, in her sense of the powers of Death. Her Senshi planet powers gave her the affinity that were powerful but like all things had the potential for good or bad… it was something she knew well. Never like Saturn's exactly…never that great. But the farther an outer the planet was from our star…the darker things got, literally and metaphorically. She'd once thought that her ability to not age would give her a head up…in the end, she's not sure it did. Now as a human she saw the validity in the temperance of things.

She wanted to fix things. But his words were so finite that she didn't know if she could break through them. Things felt so complicated all of a sudden.

"Pluto! Are you okay?"

She turned to see Sailor Mars first and then the others.

"Are you okay? Do you know where the Demon went?" Uranus asked.

"I'm not sure. It disappeared…I'm afraid quite literally." Pluto shook her head.

"Did…did you meet Charon?" Sailor Moon asked. She wasn't sure how to approach it to Pluto, but if he was as bad as Ixion...

"I did. I can't explain it at the moment, but it seems my hunches were correct. He was, at one point, the guardian of my Moons…"

"So this is running deep." Neptune shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm glad you're okay Tuxedo Mask."

"I'll be fine. How did you know about me?" He looked to Pluto. He could sense that she'd blamed herself for a lot. He wasn't sure it was even all about him.

"It tried to trick me as you, saying that you needed help to convince Serena you didn't cheat on her…but I knew it was actually Serena who couldn't get ahold of you."

"I can't believe it!" Jupiter shook her head. "I can't wait to get that one really good."

"Wait guys…something is here." Mercury said using her glasses. "I'm sensing an invisible dark energy…"

"What do you mean?" Venus asked.

"I can sense an energy…something's here…it's just hard to identify…but it's reading as dark energy. I think…if it acts like a Chameleon, it might actually-"

"Hey, look something moved over there!" Mars said, as a bush suddenly shifted.

"It will be two easy for it to trap us if we're not moving around. We should split up and see if we can strike it! If it weakens, it might not be able to use it's powers so easily! Maybe it will reveal itself then." Mercury proclaimed. They started to dart away, into the trees surrounding the park.

They all looked around shifting their eyes. They hoped something would move to give it away. Otherwise they were sitting ducks. These demons were getting more sneaky as they went.

"AGH!" Pluto felt claws around her neck from behind. Suddenly the demon's eyes blinked and it showed up, its scales emerging from what appeared as 's lizard like eyes, looked female, red, menacing.

"Sailor Pluto!" Tuxedo Mask threw a rose to hit it's hand. It barely scratched it's surface with it's scales. The monster used her lizard-like tail to push him back into a tree. The others heard the noise and began to run over.

"Touch me and I'll kill her!" It claimed. "Or Would you rather me change? How would it feel to fight someone you know?" It cackled. It didn't sound human.

"I don't know anyone here on this Earth. I am a lone wolf in all worlds..." She caught her own realization on her lips. Everyone she really knew where here infront of her. Rini was safe in the future. "I am the only person you can't affect. Everyone I care for is here-" Pluto said as she gasped for air. She felt her grasp on her her staff loosening as the Demon Seed Youma lifted her higher by her throat.

Suddenly there was a fast flash of green, and Pluto was gone from it's grasp.

The scouts stood in awe, as they tried to help Tuxedo Mask up from the blow. His wind was knocked out of him hard. Sailor Moon didn't like how he'd been hit harder this time...was it Ixion who had the vendetta against him? Or was it something else with Charon? Or coincidence?

Suddenly Pluto reappeared on a tree branch with a man who seemed to have a similar apparel to Ixion and Narune.

"Why did you save me?" Pluto said as she realized how close she was to him suddenly.

"The goal isn't to kill you all." Charon said, as if it was only a half-truth, as if he was hiding his real reason, and backed off. "Ate should be spreading seeds not strangling you all...according to my commands."

"Sorry, that was my doing."

Charon's eyes darted to a voice, as Ixion emerged from the darkenss. His words seemed full of snide nonchalant humour. "I told the thing to go after the scout that got away...I just figured one would lead to the other...or something like that..."

"What-"

Ixion shrugged as if his intentions had been innocent. But his eyes told Charon that he'd been trying to set them up. "Just helping Charon."

"I don't need your help. I don't want to owe you another favor."

"So you're Charon!" Uranus proclaimed.

Charon looked over to see the scouts had found them. They were still uneasy from the fact that Ate had disappeared again.

"What is that thing? And why is it causing our town's people to create more problems?!" Jupiter asked.

"Ate is the Seedling demon of ruin and deception. It depends on false truths to bring people in, and then creates chaos from those ill-events." Ixion answered.

"We weren't talking to you buddy!" Mars proclaimed.

"It was always the raven haired one with the bad mouth wasn't it?" Ixion smirked at his own clever remark. "Still, I'll leave you then Charon. I can tell when I'm not appreciated. Nice seeing you again Sailor Moon."

"The bushes just moved." Mercury proclaimed, redirecting attention, her glasses on again. "It's at four o'clock! If I focus in, I can see a faint glint of the eyes, it seems to be the only thing that doesn't completely hide itself like before!"

"My turn! Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

Suddenly Ate was electrocuted and became to fried, unable disguise itself, burnt in places.

"Serena!" Neptune proclaimed as they all prepared to hold it off again.

"I'm on it! HoneyMoon Therapy Kiss!"

Sailor Moon felt a resistance this time. There wasn't a pure soul to redeem…there was nothing but the Demon now…she felt it took more of her energy to fix. By the time it had 'healed' nothing was left but the bones of a small lizard, and a seed that returned to Charon all too quickly for them to take. She panted after...her knees were almost weak.

"What was that?" Venus asked.

"Yea, no human host?" Mars questioned.

"Animals have souls too. But no conscience to carefully deny or resist a Seed. It's much easier to have it take over than to succumb to human nature's ability to be swayed in a poor direction." Charon explained. His words seemed as if they were detached from a malice or diabolical form, that the others had had. It was bitter, but they weren't sure he had an intent to inflict pain. "That way it can consume the whole of that entity…there is no room to heal it, and instead nothing of the old being is left. When we finally strike…nothing on this world is sacred…nothing will resist the Seed's powers." He looked away and backed off from Pluto again.

"What do you have to do with Sailor Pluto?" Uranus asked outright. "How can you try to kill us all with these crazy demons, and yet decide to save her? What game are you playing?"

Charon paused. He looked to Pluto for a moment and then turned away. "Ask her. She knows your answer." He shaded his eyes and left.

"Pluto?" Sailor Moon asked, supported by the others. Tuxedo Mask stood beside her.

She looked to them. He was right about one thing. At first it had just been obligation; she'd never known the Princess or the other scouts in the past in person to protect their actual being…it was the concept of them she was told to protect. At one point it handn't been because she cared…it was the job.

Now, she knew the human parts of them. She knew their future child.

But now she felt liminal. Between this world, and the future one. Between the scout's side of things and a man's who she once took for granted…whose past seems muddled by some kind of unknown injustice that he claims.

She was always liminal as the Guardian of Time…but now…maybe she needed to spend time on her own to find her place…

She couldn't move on from this until everything from the past had healed somehow. She didn't know how, but she had an obligation to fixed things with Charon.

"I'm sorry. I really can't explain it, other than Charon and I have a past. There is…there are things I need to do…to think about. I can't commit at this moment to anything."

She swallowed her words hard and walked away.


	23. Chapter 23

_Quick Message:_

_I'm in school at the moment and working, and if I don't continue my stories right away I'm really sorry! I really love reviews for light criticism and support though! When Inspiration and time allow me to add another chap I will! All the same I'm trying to catch up and finish up the stories I have on the go so they will go up!_

_Thanks! Sorry about the rant! Xoxo_

* * *

**Chapter 23: On the Dark Side of Things**

Ixion watched a fist flash just past the side of his cheek towards the dark barrier wall of their hide-out.

"What was that about today?!"

"You know Charon, I don't think I've ever seen you this angry." He caught the fist in his own hand and pushed it back to Charon calmly. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you this emotional. Then again, you did let out a lot of passion with Pluto today. But to be fair… I was just trying to set things in motion… I mean sure you told her_ some_ of the stuff, but I mean if you really wanted to get her back, you got to at least try to fill the roll of protector a little. I mean that's all that god forsaken Earth Prince parades in his mask doing… and quite regrettably it does seem to work doesn't it?"

Charon hated how Ixion was trying to parallel their dislike for that man. All the same he wasn't about to cause a huge strife in the group's alliance. He could put his dislike aside for Ixion's meddling as long as he didn't continue butting in. "Just do me a favor and leave my dealings with Pluto, and the Seeds I'm given, to myself. Do what you want with the Moon Princess…but I think we all know you've already lost that one."

"Oh come now Charon. Not all is lost? I mean did you see how easy it was for me to knock the guy a good one? He's not all that ..._but, _the point is, I couldn't have done it without you! And I mean…he was already affected nearly three times! He's as weak as the Earth people he rules when succumbing to the demons they created on the Moon back in the day during the war…" Ixion remained un-phased by Charon's warning, and seemed overly chipper. Almost mockingly.

"The same war that was pretty much started because the Moon Princess you like was willing to bring everyone along with her to war, so she could be with the Earth Prince… so she wouldn't have to settle with people like you? Didn't they ask you to fight for them? I mean you nearly signed up just to protect their happiness? Or was it to fix the fact that your father couldn't keep his women in a row either, that you were tempted to fight?" Charon couldn't subvert his anger, and let it out in a passive bitter remark.

Ixion suddenly flicked a flame wheel at Charon, too irritated now to even look his way, purposefully aiming for his cape. Charon dodged it expectantly by transporting and reemerging a moment later to the left.

"Boys, can you cut it out? You fight worse than girls do with these cat fights." Sedna came in rolling her eyes. "Look Ixion, our lovely Lady of Discord wants to see you. Also Charon, if you're going to try to get Pluto to actually see things our way, I have to side with Ixion a bit here. You got to sweet talk a girl into trusting you again before you can show her our side of things…if she's willing to hear. I wouldn't mind having a little female company. Eris and I were always a bit of outsiders. I'm not sure why all the other female Senshi were always so soft hearted…"

"I don't expect to get her to our side..." Charon knew Pluto didn't seem to understand his point. At least she hadn't seemed to succumb to his warnings then…or in the present…

"What could I have possibly done that our dear Senshi Leader of Discord wants to see me?" Ixion asked playfully.

"Who knows…I didn't ask." Sedna shrugged and walked off.

"Probably wants to let me take your Seed to use…considering how I was the one who used it to its _better_ potential. Or maybe she's just bored of dear Orcus and needs some more selection..." Ixion smirked to Charon before walking off.

Charon didn't care what Ixion said. He'd deal with Pluto...sooner or later on his own terms…as much as he hated to admit it…seeing Pluto again woke up everything inside him he had been trying to forget since that war on the Moon.

He was stupid to think bringing Pluto back into the picture directly would do any good though.

"Yes?" Ixion said looking up to the woman they'd all agreed to lead them in their fight. He noticed how Dysnomia slithered in and out of the darkness of the room.

"Ah, Ixion." She turned. Her dark mauve black hair, and her dark red eyes smiled. Past her bangs, it sat up in a braid that wrapped around her head and then spilled into a large train of hair down to her calves. Her senshi mark seemed to glow slightly on her forehead, always a deep red. Her dress was burgundy that faded to a dull graphite as it fell …revealing, off the shoulders, just covered just her breasts before meeting in a band that went around her ribs tight, then extending down in loose waves, slitting down the middle just past mid-calf opening up to long pale slender legs. Her deep red jewels sat in a gold necklace, her wrists with almost Grecian looking cuffs. Her ears held two grey-oval earrings, matching the bottom layer of her dress.

She held her staff, with it's encasement of gold and ruby, protecting the estranged apple that seemed to swirl in the dark powers of the seeds it contained; the key to everything. She was to lead them; she was the first to have united them and even Ixion didn't mind allowing her that honor. She was the most powerful of them anyway.

"Rumor has it that our dear Shen Charon …or should I say,_ you, _awoke the memories of our long lost ally Pluto…"

"Well Charon is obsessed still with her. Frankly, I am at least open with my own dealings with who I intend to pursue." Ixion looked bored with it all.

"I agree. While I once never cared much that she took the place before my brother and I in the Senshi line up… I can see that she two has her own validity in that bittersweet placement as the Guardian of Time. I can't say I'd adhere to it myself. It _is_ surprising she denied Charon so roughly…"

Ixion looked at Eris. She was the strongest of them: stronger than Pluto's lineage had been before the current senshi Pluto had taken over as the Guardian of Time. What's more, was that her brother's tragic fate had handed them, or rather her, with an even greater power.

He understood why Orcus had come to fancy her. She had been known as one of the most beautiful and most dangerous of all of the Senshi of the planets. She was a dark horse; a dark and wild beauty fueled by the same fire they had all been submerged in back in the day.

"Frankly she doesn't seem at ease with that decision. Charon couldn't win her back if he tried though with his passive antics. So why did you need me then?" Ixion flashed a smirk.

"Charon's next Demon Seed…Limos…I have a fair Idea of what it will be used for. I told him to use it to bring them…closer to us. As a demon it starves people of what they want the most until they wallow into the self-pity that is loss. That being said, although I can't imagine Charon would appreciate this notion, I want you to intervene." Her arms crossed, her left hand resting over her mouth delicately. Her eyes intense, devious, seductive. "This time, under my orders though...I would really hate for us to all turn on each other after we've gotten so far." Her eyes sparked. A sharpness that made him question how much more powerful she really was.

"But why so interested in Pluto? Isn't she just another Moon washed-" Ixion began to question, wondering how far he could push. He couldn't help but like to play with flames.

"I'm beginning to think it would be useful for at least one of their Guardian Senshi to begin to see things from our standpoint. Pluto is the easiest to draw in. Eventually I intend to make sure they know our whole story…every single one of us will get a chance to inflict our pain onto them…but for the meant time…this favor, dear Aden, _Prince_ Ixion? In return…I guess I can adhere to the idea of destroying our dear enemy's composure in a way that you too could get what you wanted?" She smiled her dark rouge colored lips into a slight smile, her eyes piercing the darkness at him.  
She was purely diabolical, and Ixion too had to admit, that Orcus might one day have a run for his money if it came down to it. "A _Prince_ as a ruler, as we all are, does need a docile _Princess _I suppose…might be fun to put a bird in a cage."

"Anything you want me to do then." Ixion liked it. He could interfere with Charon's situation and he got to find a way to keep a prize for himself after it was all said and done. There was nothing about what Eris offered him that he didn't like.

Eris was their true leader. And there wasn't a moment he didn't disagree with that.

* * *

"Darien…I'm worried." Serena said sitting next to Darien in his room.

"What is it Serena?"

"Trista. The way she said what she did today. Charon saved her from the youma…so far they've only had …grudges…."

" I can see that you're worried _for_ her. I also understand it must be tough for her though. I mean think about it; Rei and her moons' guardians are pretty close, and even you and Luna are close…it makes me wonder what kind of relationship she'd once had with Charon."

"What do you mean?"

"The way she said that they were involved… I'm beginning to question myself how involved they were. She seemed really at odds by his appearance."

"You don't think?" Serena's eyes widened. She wondered if that was why Charon had protected her…kind of like how Tuxedo Mask protected her even when he had been on the dark side in the past…well for the most part.

"Well he doesn't seem to appear in an animal form. I'm beginning to think that all of the guardians might have dual forms. I mean according to Artemis they were all people chosen from a lineage that came from the Moon."

Serena recalled when she turned Luna into a human. Could that be true?

"On the other hand, I don't think it's fair for us to speculate. I think she'll let us in when she knows how to handle whatever she needs to handle herself. All of this news of guardians and other Senshi who have powers that come from the planetary heir opens up too many speculations about what exactly happened in the past."

"Mhm…I just hate that we're all getting hurt in the process." She rested her head on his knee.

"We all have something to fight for. We're bound to be put under some kind of pressure when we're standing up for it."

"What are you fighting for?"

"Me?" He coughed. "Well…to make sure you're safe. Lately that Ixion has me worried Serena, the way he was willing to forcefully separate us on various occasions. In order to save the Earth from their threat, I need to stand by you. It's the only reason I'm getting a sense that I have a target on my back…"

"Wait because of me? Are you serious?"

"Don't you see it Serena? Ixion wants you alone. He was willing to jeopardize everyone, so I can't help but having to deal with his blows." He admitted, a little stunned she was so oblivious.

"I'm sorry. I guess I can't help but wonder how many people were alienated from us way back. He seems bitter…and he gets too close…" Serena looked concerned.

Darien sighed. "To be honest, I have gotten a little used to our enemies having somewhat of a crush on you at times…It's just a matter of the fact that I trust you enough that I know the only thing I need to worry about is to make sure they don't hurt you in the process. We all need you Serena." He sighed giving her a loving smile.

She nodded her head. "But, just make sure you stay safe okay…you really scared me today.." She blushed slightly before he took her chin in his hand and kissed her.

* * *

Trista looked out her apartment window. Everything was dark.

It was late now.

But that was it. That was the problem. Her dreams were haunting. Charon...

How could they have not remembered all of this? Was this the price of their reincarnation? She knew even as a human the moment the new millennium woke itself, she would become, like the Moon people, a Senshi frozen in time.

She would probably see most of her friends die. Or maybe she wouldn't actually see it. She long knew her post, supporting the portal of time would take up all of her time.

Nothing about it would have been questioned. Nothing until she realized how much those cold pale green eyes hurt her to look at. Knowing what she knew now, as apposed to in her past…she could see that Charon had cared, and she'd done little to even reciprocate that.

She wondered if it was even proper for a Guardian of the Moon to fall for the Planet it protected? Or was she too bold to assume that he actually …_fell_ for her.

Her stomach turned. How could she still care for someone…someone who wanted to cause harm to her and her friends? How come his eyes, his voice, his…everything made her want to sew all the wounds up…to go back into time…

But she couldn't change a thing. She couldn't abandon the Scouts…and she couldn't leave Charon so bitter.

Her dream. That moment back then, when Charon had defended her before she'd banished him from the Gates for his own protection. Charon…with his glowing staff…the silver wolf of her moon. The one who'd set all the teleports of their planetary systems… the one who had a scar down his chest. A scar she'd left on him.

Could she blame him for wanting revenge? For being cold…  
No.

Her only decision then, would be to step down from this fight. She could neither do her duty as a Senshi nor fix her old relationship.

She looked at her transformation pen in her hand before setting it down on the inner ledge of her windowsill. Her only option was to leave things out of her hands. Maybe it was cowardly. But for now, it was all she had.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 23 : Early Bird Gets the Worm**

"How do you expect to play this one out?" Verune looked to Charon.

"Exactly how she wants me to. She wants us to let them into our world..." Charon said, they looked over the city the humans called Toyko.

"It is about time. But…are you prepared for that?" Varune's flat blunt words held a power even Charon wasn't sure of. His crossed arms and firm look reminded him of cold biting water. Bitter, blunt, icy but exactly what needed to be said.

"I must be. Limos will covet what they care for most, and I will reel them in. It's been too long…and I refused to let things replay again. Even if Pluto neglects me, at least if we destroy the empire that used to be, she will be free." He hated how prolific he sounded to the others but it was the truth.

"It has been too long. But do not fail us over the adoration of a lost cause." Varune gave him a side glance, turning to walk away. "You're plans to neglect the use of humans as hosts in this seems both somewhat clever and somewhat all too humane."

"I already told you, it was all Ixion yesterday." Charon said stoically. "And it works; if anything it proves that nothing will escape in the end."

"Then prove to Ixion you can achieve your goals. I doubt a Mistress of Discord herself will be impressed by an ill-wavered strike." Varune walked away.

Charon gripped his staff tighter. Maybe it was time for him to break his old bonds. Maybe, if he were lucky, she wouldn't show up...

* * *

"Why did you call us over so early Serena?" Rei yawned looking at the watch on her wrist. It was Saturday morning and none of the scouts knew how to handle the recent events. They all seemed stressed out and tired since the last few strikes against their enemies, and frankly Rei was both surprised and unimpressed that Serena had told them they needed to come over so early.

Serena looked at them with nervous eyes. It was only Lita, Ami and Rei present.

"I can't find Luna…I can't find her anywhere…" They all looked at her room, torn apart like she'd been missing an item of clothing rather than a cat.

"Are you sure she just didn't leave to go off with Artemis somewhere?" Ami asked.

"I don't think so…she wouldn't just leave like that…" Serena looked at the empty spot on her bed where Luna was. "I just have a feeling something is wrong…"

"Oh come on Serena! She goes on her own all the time. She's not a house cat…" Rei grumbled.

"It is true." Lita nodded.

"No wait guys…" Suddenly Mina walked into Serena's room. "Artemis is also missing. I've looked all over. Since last night, I couldn't shake the feeling something wasn't right. When I woke up kind of early too with a feeling that something was off… and he was gone, I kind of figured he might have gone to see Luna. Now that he's not here… I'm nervous."

"It still doesn't prove anything happened we need to worry about." Ami looked cross.

"This might." Mina held a long blue-black feather between her fingers.

"Whoa, that's huge." Lita gapped.

"I found a few outside my window." Mina said. "They don't look normal that's for sure."

"What is it from?" Serena asked.

"Don't look at me… way too long for a crow. I can sense a bit of dark energy on them though." Rei shook her head.

"Too big for any local bird. Its black iridescent quality is reminiscent of a mag-pie's variation…but that can't be right either. " Ami shook her head.

"Hey, there are some outside Serena's window too." Lita looked outside. Suddenly her communicator beeped.

"Amara?"

"Hey, have any of you guys talked to Trista at all since our last fight?" Amara looked equally as exhausted.

"No, haven't you or Michelle?" Rei asked.

"No, we haven't and we're worried. She's basically backed off completely since that whole event. She told Michelle, a few days ago; that she doesn't want to be bothered for a bit…but now we're concerned. This stuff with these rogue senshi are really getting on my nerves."

"Man, I hope she doesn't have it too bad for that Charon guy." Mina said.

"No way she'd let some old fling get in the way!" Rei shook her head.

"Yea, but remember, he was her guardian too. It's gotta be rough." Lita disagreed.

"Yea, now that you say it like that…I mean Phobos and Demos are more than just pets to me. Same with Luna and Artemis…" Rei nodded.

"If you hear from her let us know."

"Hey wait, we may have a new problem on our hands…" Mina piped in.

"Yea what's that?"

"Two missing cats..." Serena added in.

"Then I guess we better go on a sailor scout cat hunt shouldn't we?" Michelle suddenly came in on the other side.

The others nodded.

Michelle looked to Amara on the other end after the conversation ended. "I think we should send Trista a message about this…even if she doesn't show up…she needs to know we're out there…especially since its Luna and Artemis…"

"You think they might be targets? Or they're just working on this on their own?" Amara asked crossing her arms looking out on the morning city.

"Can't be certain. But I bet it will be easier to look as scouts. Let's go." Michelle led the pair off.

* * *

Charon had seen the scouts.

They all moved around the town. He wondered how they thought that they were so well hidden…  
It been easy to observe them closely enough to find out who they were as humans when they weren't looking. Frankly, they'd seen everything, all because of his ability to use his teleportation to move in and out of time, and dark places. Every one of them was key to the whole rebellion.

Those two moon faced cats… he'd recalled them from the past. Artemis was the guardian given to Venus because she'd had no moon, and hence no guardian. She was the closest of the scouts to the Moon Princess, as the planetary Venus power was always linked to the Moon. Many say Venus' people were more often pairs of people of both the Moon and Venus due to the close nature of the two planet's relationships. Light derived their powers, and he knew too well from experience the darker senshi were usually shunned or avoided.

And then Luna was simply the appointed guardian of the Moon Princess herself.

Back then he could have become a wolf if he wanted to. They always had two forms – a gift for putting their lives on the line and being chosen as honorable guardians of the planet's moons. They could remain as the entity they preferred, and often declared one, human or animal, as their true body. It wasn't long after he had been decided to be Pluto's guardian he knew the body of a wolf was too far from human and so he retained his human form. The last time he'd ever become one was the day that he stopped Pluto from getting striked by one of Queen Beryl's men.

More so, it seems, these cats' rebirth to earth had caused a permanent linkage to the last form they had been in. Maybe in their reincarnation they lost that ability to change… Now they were simple cats. Not a thing more than that.

Limos, flapped her long wings. Back black, shining, her white body and red eyes bare, covered only with feathers where one would expect the important parts of the female body to be. Her log greenish tail spiked out like daggers. Her face was human; all in all a strange looking bird of a demonic feather.

Limos had found home and consumed a bird that had already adored taking the things that shined; the things people coveted most.  
It was how Eris had planned to lure the scouts in; it wouldn't be long until they told their side of the story. Charon knew well it would be the prelude to their final blow.

* * *

"Have you got a hold of Trista? It might be best for another set of eyes." Mars asked.

"No, I've tried to page her but she's not answering." Uranus shook her head.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Mars looked straight on at their path, still looking for the two cats from the rooftops down.

"Vibes?" Jupiter asked.

"Kind of. It's just set up too well…the two go missing…and we still haven't found them. Can't even get ahold of them…no note, no signification where they could be, and its almost noon. Especially after what happened earlier this week. It's not just vibes. But I am getting something from over there."

"Enemy?" Neptune asked. She followed Mars' gaze. It was on an empty lot on the far side of the city, just a bit farther up from where they were.

"Possibly." Mars closed her eyes. She silently summoned the powers of mars to reveal the dark energy. Something in the back of her head showed her a small vision of the claws of a bird…dark and swirling. "It's strange…I think it might be best we get Serena and the rest of them to meet us here. If Luna and Artemis are involved, we need all the scout power we can get."

Trista had seen the girls around the town. She'd gone on her own roof top apartment building earlier. Now she'd followed them to an empty lot. She wasn't about to become a scout at this moment – not if Charon was present. Even if this was childish, she couldn't divide herself into two until more was clear. She would stay close by incase they needed help. She hid behind an empty oversized compost container at the lot. Construction materials and this and that were scattered. It was then that she spotted Charon and what looked like a bird-like demon next to him. But Luna and Artemis weren't there.

"I knew you were here!" Mars proclaimed as the others joined them, pointing out Charon and Limos.

"And I expected you'd find me." Charon said rather calmly. He distanced himself, as always. Pluto wasn't there; he didn't have much to worry about.

"Did you take them?" Jupiter said boldly, leaving it vague enough to get an answer.

"If by them you meant the kitten guardians of the Moon…" Charon leaned against his staff as Limos opened a pair of wings beneath her clawed hands, and on them was a projected image of luna and artemis unconscious in what looked like a black egg.

"Where are they?!" Sailor Moon belted out.

"Give them back!" Venus continued.

"But they're mine now! So cute, so loved, so shiny." Limos chimed, her voice taunting. Her cackles were loud.

"Why did you take them?" Neptune asked.

"Limos takes what people covet most, and causes a person to ache for that need. A need and a want for things. Normally he would have had her steal possessions to prove how shallow humans are…but we thought it would be more fun if you end up in our neck of the woods this time. Starve you of the thing you care for most." Ixion suddenly appeared.

Charon turned to see him. He chose to ignore his appearance rather than acknowledge it.

"Give them back or you'll regret it! What did they ever do to you?" Neptune called out.

"Me? Oh nothing at all…however even those that stand by are as guilty as the party of culprits of a crime." Charon said.

"What crime?" Mercury asks.

"You'll find out soon enough. Come here just after the moon hits the sky and I'll take you to them. We've decided we'd like to see what you think of things from our side."

"And if we dont?" Uranus questions, sensing a trap.

"Well...I cant imagine those eggs have very much air left in them..." Charon turns to leave.

"How come you care about Pluto so much but you cant muster any affection for us?" Sailor Moon asks suddenly causing him to stop. He swore he heard a small snicker from Ixion. This girl was as bad as he was…

"I'm sure she doesn't care anyways. Plus what do you know about loyalty? About what others want? You never cared for us. Don't speak to me about Pluto. You were a naive princess to think you knew how affection truly works. Its too late now, but then you were all silly puppets on strings."

Ixion smiles. "Ouch, his words are both harsh… _and _truthful."

Pluto budged a bit behind her hiding spot. She reluctantly retreated again. She does care. More so she understands now. Senshi-dom probably had caused her loneliness. But it also gave her friends. Yet, it seems she lost a very important one to the cause. Still...there was so much more to be unearthed. Why were so many of these rogue senshi and guardians angry exactly?

"Forget that well just fight that Demon Nut right now!" Jupiter proclaimed.

"Demon seed actually. And goodluck with that." Ixion smiled taking over, his hand suddenly outstretched to the side as if to summon Limos to attack.

Limos batted her wings, and in her hands were the same long feathers they found around Serena and Mina's rooms. "How do you like my feathers?" It chimed, before throwing them at the scouts. The feathers became more like daggers shooting them down , becoming almost human size as they hit the ground, as shiny and hard as steal.

The scouts then became engulfed in trying to miss them. Tuxedo Mask suddenly appeared helping ward some of them off with his staff.

"What are you doing here?" Charon proclaimed to Ixion, while they were distracted. "Limos was mine, she's mine to use."

"The darling mistress o' discord wanted me here! I guess I am more important than you thought. Oh look at that? I dont see Pluto anywhere… What did you say to her yesterday to piss her off so?" Ixion said, his arms now crossed looking to Charon straight on.

"Shut it Ixion. I told you not to interfere." Charon was normally as cold and calm as his hair was silver, and his eyes green, but recently it had all begun to bubble to the top.

"Hey, when the Senshi of pure Chaos tells me to kneel, with those deep maroon eyes and hips of hers, sometimes a man's just gotta. I guess the scouts will have to relay the message to Pluto..."

"The message of what?" Charon looked perplexed.

"That if they want you back alive ...or rather she does...she'd better come with them on this trip to our side."

"What?" Charon stepped back, the both of them hovering over the area, defying gravity.

"Limos, get him now." Ixion suddenly proclaimed.

The scouts watch in confusion awe, as Limos suddenly stopped and darted after it's own maker. The moved to strike but some of them were injured with deep scratches. Limos suddenly struck Charon with a ball of dark energy; it seemed to almost stun him before forming a darkened egg over him and disappearing in a portal to some other place.

"That's right. Tell your friend Pluto if she ever hopes to see Charon alive again, she'd better be there to set him free." Ixion shrugged.

"Why's that?" Michelle asked who was helping Jupiter up from the ground.

"Only the person who truly wishes to possess them will be able to break it open from Limos' power. Limos will be returning with us. Even reverting her to a seed wont break this."

"You're going to just give them back if we do?" Mina asked.

"If that's what it takes sure. We don't need a few measly cats around our end." Ixion shrugged.

"Isn't Charon you're ally?" Mars challenged.

"He is. But he's also a loose end if his head isn't in the right place. I'd frankly love to prove to him once and for all how bitter it is to love someone who does not love you back." Ixion gaves a seductive smirk, aimed towards Sailor Moon.

"Must be unfortunate." Tuxedo Mask proclaimed boldly. Ixion gave him a dark glare

"I'm not worried. If I were you, I'd watch out. I'd hate to see that you're not around to protect Serena from me...especially after creating a midnless war over love you caused. Suddenly Ixion and Limos seemed to retreat backwards into the air and disappeared.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 24: At Moonlight Tonight**

"What do we do now?" Mars asked.

"We have to go…we just can't leave them there." Sailor Moon pleads.

"Yea, but what about that charade with Charon? Do you think it's just a trap?" Uranus asked. "All of us against them has better odds…especially if we'll be on their turf…but its obvious, they have every intention of setting us up for a fight."

"And if it is a charade, why would they want Pluto to come with us so bad?" Neptune put her hand to her chin. "I mean the fact that they would put their own in danger…its either a trap, or they sincerely don't care about each other's fates…which seems strange considering how they call each other allies."

"Yea, but Charon _is_ the only one who's shown real affection for one of us…apart from that flirtatious pain Ixion." Mars looked irked at the thought of him. Sailor Moon slumped at the thought of it.

"I think it's best we try to go to Trista face to face later." Jupiter suggests."

"Or, we _could_ just leave a message on her phone." Tuxedo Mask suddenly pipes in.

"Huh? Are you saying we shouldn't tell her? What if she didn't get it?" Venus asked.

"No. But I think you girls have yet to realize that she's probably received all of the messages so far, but she's just not answering. I can't explain it exactly but if you were in her shoes, wouldn't you be a bit torn…I think its best we let her know, but we don't sway her decision. Although her decision will effect others, it is her decision to make."

"I think if Luna or Artemis was here, they'd agree with that. It seems logical to tell her, but I mean relationships are complicated…" Mercury pipes in.

"Okay, so we leave her a message…or two…but what about saving Luna and Artemis as well?" Venus asked.

"We'll meet here tonight. There's no questioning it. As long as we stick together, we can get them back." Sailor Moon shook her head.

"And maybe they'll reveal more about why they're here, and why they hate us so much…" Mercury suspected.

"Then lets meet back here by nine pm sharp – that way as soon as the moon is high we'll be ready." Venus added.

"Okay, sounds good." They nodded.

Sailor Moon watched as Tuxedo Mask went in the other direction.

"Darien, where are you going?"

"I have something I have to do before tonight. I'll meet you at your house soon Serena. I promise." He said.

She nodded and left with Venus.

* * *

Trista took a deep sigh, still behind the compost. She heard it all. She'd actually transformed…when she saw what had happened she'd fought with herself whether or not to emerge. Now as Sailor Pluto, she saw in herself what the dilemma was she had to face head on.

If she was going to do this, she needed to go alone. She'd already planned on that much. She'd go early. What Tuxedo Mask had said was right; she didn't need to be swayed by anyone at the moment. It had to be her decision…whatever that ended up being. Maybe she could find enough time to be alone with Charon, and figure things out.

She turned to leave when suddenly someone landed in front of her.

"Tuxedo Mask?"

"I saw you here earlier when I joined the fight."

"Why didn't you tell the others?"

"That's not my job to do. I figured there was a reason you were hiding. I've had plenty of moments where I've had to figure things out on my own to know when one chooses seclusion for a reason." He revealed.

She looked at him. Charon had thought at one point that she'd been infatuated with him. She admired him dearly, as Small Lady's father… he'd easily one the hearts of many, even Queen Beryl, and Rei at one point…but knowing Charon's brokenness, she questioned if her infatuation was ever really real? Maybe she had just been an admirer from a distance, long ago, but it couldn't have run that deep.

"I had to come. Now that Charon is captured too…trick or not…I need to go on my own tonight. I can't promise I could do my job as a Scout correctly if I was with the others. I care for them, Serena and the other scouts, but I also still care for Charon. It's a new and old feeling, and I can't help but hurt when I see the way her pushes me aside. Only small pieces of the puzzle are coming back to me, but theres some tearing apart in my chest between these two places, and I need to figure it out so I can put it all back together." She sighs deeply again. "Do you remember what it was like when your future self had you stay away from Serena?"

"I do. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. I broke her heart to a point that I almost caused her demise a few times. It was an obstacle we had to overcome but every move was like torture…I was stuck between my duties as protector as Tuxedo Mask, and my affection for her as both myself, and former self as Prince."

"I feel similarly for Charon. I haven't decided if it's really love…but I care for him deeply, and every moment away, him thinking that I can't understand his pain…and my duties as Scout to protect Serena and fight for what's right…it is becoming torture. My worst fear is … should it come down to saving Serena or Charon...I can't be certain what I would do…and both would absolutely kill me. We all need to go tonight to figure out why these people hate the Guardian Senshi so much…but my own quest requires me also to mend an old relationship. Maybe I need to know where I stand. I know all of the scouts put things on hold because of our roles, but to turn away from someone I care for…"

"I understand. From what I saw in our future, you care much for Rini, and to make sure Serena survives. You are a good scout Pluto, and loyal for what you do as the Keeper of the Time Portal. I don't think it is very selfish of you to spend some of your time on yourself."

"Thank you Darien." She bowed her head slighty. "Serena will have to understand I have to take a leave for a bit as a Guardian Scout, until I can figure things out. At least I mean as standing beside them for the moment in this fight. I won't let either side perish, and I plan to make sure of that…no matter what it takes. I know the Gates need a Guardian...and I will continue to keep them locked tight until I return. I don't plan to let my key out of my sight. I know this also puts us at risk but… I just need to know that Luna and Artemis are safe. And I figured out as much that them luring me with Charon is a trap."

"I wont tell the others unless it warrants me to. But the enemy, they're interested in you Pluto." He looked conflicted.

"I do want to be there for small lady when she comes into our world during our time… but…" She pauses and turned to the sky. "A long time ago, Charon was my loyal guardian, and he misinterpreted me. He thought I cared deeply for someone else; a man who…I think… once showed me brief kindness in the past and again in the future. I owe that man, at least to stay true to what my future self set out to do, and protect what is dear to the future. But I also owe Charon a chance for us to patch whatever bitterness had once happened." She put her head down for a moment. "Thank you."

Tuxedo Mask watched as she suddenly broke away from their conversation before he could respond, leaving a faint glisten of a trail of tears through the air, as she leapt away in shadows. She had always seemed so stoic and strong from the few times she'd fought with them, but it was only now he understood the pain of being the Guardian of Time, and what that meant. He questioned whether that riddled man she'd told him about was his future self. He, did however, understand her pain in the need to find herself; he'd had to do that for years before he'd found a place in this world, and it wasn't beside the person he'd first expected it to be by. Maybe Pluto had to uncover her past as well, to find out where she belonged. At least he was aware of her plan…so if something did go wrong, he could make sure the other scouts understood what had happened today.

But now he'd have to go meet Serena. It was long overdue, and he'd make sure, at Ixion's warning, to never leave her side during this next battle.

* * *

Pluto got there at seven sharp. The sun was setting and she would be here the moment Ixion arrived. Hopefully he came before the scouts did.

She didn't like going alone…although she'd spent much of her time alone. Existing in this time and place, with her memories in tact made her feel like her two identities were very dual.

She hadn't realized she'd actually died in the war against Queen Beryl… it seemed, like Saturn, a part of her had always remained as Pluto protecting the gates, while her human self had existed here, albeit after finding Michelle and Amara, the two parts of her had become one.

Now she felt divided again.

"To be quite honest I'm surprised you showed up. I thought after you didn't come earlier today that Charon was as good as gone."

"You would do that to him?" She looked up to see Ixion.

"Who knows. Either way, dead or alive, he would have haunted me to my grave, the broken hearted fool."

"And you say this after going after Sailor Moon on occasion." She held her staff protectively just ahead of her.

"Obsessively infatuated sure…heartbroken? Not yet. But I'm sure he'll be happy to see your face when you release him."

"I expect this is a trap of somekind." She said bluntly. "But I am well prepared to do everything in my power to make sure nobody gets hurt, no matter what the cost."

Ixion was taken back by her strong willed behavior. More so he knew well that they worst price she would pay was to use her Time powers, against the laws of Senshidom, and likely resulting in death. They may ruin everything, but the look in her eyes of desperation and bravery also meant she may end up seeing things their way after it was all revealed. "Were you always this foreward? I guess Charon likes them dominant…"

"Enough with the snide jokes. I'm here to get him back and Luna and Artemis."

Ixion raised a brow. "In fact I _was_ informed to lead you straight to him. Whatever you two love birds decide, we'll blame that outcome on our Lady Eris who arranged the meeting."

"And Luna and Artemis?"

"That's for your friends to find, and you to see." He said. He moved his hand leaving a trail of a flame behind, which seemed to open a space to open to portal. "Coming?"

She nodded, bracing herself, and followed him in.

* * *

"So she didn't answer the phone either huh?" Mars asked as they arrived on scene.

"No, she didn't. But at the least she might get the messages before it's too late." Neptune shook her head.

"I'm sure it'll be fine in the end. We must worry about getting everyone back, even if it's without Pluto." Tuxedo Mask said.

"Even our enemy?" Mercury asked.

"We'll leave that one to a on the spot judgment call." Jupiter said, looking rather fierce.

"I just want Luna and Artemis, home, in my arms, safe." Sailor Moon said, nervously.

"Well here, we are. He better keep his end of the deal." Uranus said crossed arms.

"I wouldn't worry about my end of any bargain. I am quite an honest man. Whatever I set out to do will happen." Ixion's voice came from behind them.

They turned suddenly to see him just behind Sailor Moon moving away backwards in the air in a leap, his hands trailing, the strand of her odango.

Tuxedo Mask stood in front of her protectively, as she gasped and they all leapt back in retaliation.

"Oh relax I don't bite." He said with his playful smirk. "I was surprised, this is all going so well."

"What went well prior to this that's got you so chipper?" Mars asked.

"Ah the feisty rival female flame is out causing a spark again? And clearly if you don't know I'm not going to tell. But a deal _is_ a deal. You want the kitty cats back, you can follow me through here…" He opened a blackened portal. It seemed to swirl with a strange energy – it wasn't like the dark crystals, no. It was a mix of familiarity – of senshi power, with a strange darkness that fueled it; the same feeling, and energy of the seeds.

"You'd better not dupe us." Jupiter warned.

"No duping. Straight path here to the kittens." He said entering slightly. "Now or never."


	26. Chapter 26

**_I'm actually going to post an image of the Doll Divine *DracheaRannak Senshi Maker I used to kind of personify (the best I could) the OC's I have so readers can get a sense of how I imagine them on my DeviantArt account If people are interested? Maybe? Or not? If you want to view it my account is: PurpleDancer69 _**

**_\- xox_**

* * *

**Chapter 25: Remembering The Forgotten of Another**

Pluto felt the floor beneath her. She opened her eyes and hadn't expected to see much, but in the dark warped room she could see something: the egg.

It was a strange looking thing. It kind of warped tones of red purple and black around him like a force field in the shape of an egg. She got up using her staff. Luckily it seemed their goal wasn't to steal it from her.

As she saw him inside he even looked conflicted in rest…was he sleeping? Why did his face bring back only feelings of both heartbreak and compassion? She needed more answers; she needed to remember more.

But then a part of her wished not to. She was handling her place as the Guardian of Time for a long while now. She'd been the first senshi of Pluto to be bestowed that honor but what she didn't understand was why…why was never a question she asked.

If she only half wished…then would she be able to break this …be able to get to Charon? She looked at her hand. She placed it on her staff and delicately put it on the force field.

"_By the name of Pluto, shatter darkness, so that time may be mended." _She focused her powers onto it.

Suddenly she felt it shatter, like small shards of glass, or egg shell pieces infront of her.

Charon opened his eyes and stood up rather abruptly. "Why did you come?"

"I wasn't planning on taking the risk." She stepped back. Was it too easy?

"It may have been a trap…I don't understand what they planned to get out of this. I'm starting to believe that Ixion purely exists for my own torture."

Next to him, he was a foot taller. She looked at him. He was tortured by this as much as she was. "It doesn't matter. I've stepped down as Senshi Guardian of the Moon Princess until I can make sure everyone is safe, even if that means abiding by whatever trap your allies set out."

"You don't look like it."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "You still are a Senshi as you are. It is more than a verbal contract. I wish I could show you things from my perspective…at least in the past. I know you did the things you did because you believed they were right. But I don't think you understand the suffering I saw, watching you, and being turned away, and then witnessing your death. Now I find you only with partial memories; memories that won't let you see the whole picture…just what you need to know to be a Guardian."

"Then tell me."

"I've tried." He shut his eyes for a moment, and turned away. When he opened them he saw a shadow in the room move. _Eris. _

As they stood in silence, he wondered what she could have wanted in this confrontation.

_..._

**_Charon, do you really want to show her everything?_**

Charon sighed. _Of course I do._

**_Then use Pseudia's seed._**

The shadow of a ghostly woman on the ground took over his shadow, all black, held out her hand and the image of a seed appeared.**_ Let it sprout between both of you, and it can spread your darkest memories of the past so she can understand your suffering._**

_Is it safe? I thought…_

**_I have no jealousy over her position. Even now you see her status was a double-edged sword. Even you know they only feed off the energies of darkness…let Pseudia's ability to play on the forgotten assist you. What she decides then will be all her decision…_**

...

Her voice was like a whisper in his head. He knew that Eris had long acquired strong abilities after the war, but with them, it was never forceful. He looked to his hand and saw that, as the shadow, the seed was now in his hand.

It might be his only shot at getting Pluto to understand his feelings about the past. If this failed…he would be also questioning his own place next to the others. Should Pluto get hurt, things would not be so black and white.

He turned. "What if I told you, you could see what I saw...back then..?"

"What do you mean?" She seemed to not notice the toil in his mind, nor the conversation he'd had in there with Lady Discord.

He looked at her fierce expression masked in a kind of calm that he'd seen her perfect over the years. Confined emotion.

"If I use Pseudia's seed to share my memories with you…"

"I won't be seeded by -" She looked wide eyed at his suggestion.

"You won't be. At least I wouldn't do that to you." He stared at it in his palm.

She looked at it. "If anything goes wrong, I will never trust you again Charon."

He felt his heart pound. The same tone cold words of caring too much she'd once bestowed on him the day she turned him away as a Guardian. "That is fair." He nodded. He lifted the seed in his hand, and it glowed a strange purplish red color.

Pluto looked at it for a moment and then closed her eyes. She had to trust him with this. It might be her only chance. At the same time it seemed to branch off of Charon, as if it was feeding off him. He grimaced slightly. It seemed to sit in his hand as if it was now an extention of his arm.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea. These demons…could she trust them? She backed off a step.

Charon looked to the seed thoughtfully and then outstreatched his arm as suddenly the seed sent redish branches towards Pluto.

Swiftly it branched onto her arm, as if it was growing out of Pseudia's Seed, like a bridge between them. She retracted her arm as if to move back, but she couldn't.

"Charon, just stop it now. I don't know about this.."

"I don't know h-" He began to say, and then looked at her in the eye. He had to do it. "Pluto I cant." He looked to the Demon Seed and then to her again. If she could understand him it would be their only chance.

She looked at him with wide eyes, as suddenly she felt the familiar feeling as if she was slipping into a dream, as her body felt limp beneath her.

Then there was the clank sound of her scepter as it hit the floor.

* * *

Pluto felt strange. She knew she was dreaming. Her whole consciousness was there, but she felt a strange vibe of negative energy surrounding her. Pseudia. It had to be. But if this was Charon's memory…she needed to see it.

It was strange. She … she was seeing things through the eyes of Charon.

His moments of memory starting with being picked as her Guardian before most of the other scouts were even born…he originally was a citizen of the moon, gifted with strange powers. He had…a sister?.

The feeling he had. The sense of nobility. The strange emotion he felt when he saw her.

Then it moved forward in a rush.

Trapped in his mind, she saw the moments he visited her out by the Gate of Time.

_"__They told me they want to use my teleportation for portals between worlds now. The current Queen of the Moon asked me."_

"_Isnt that a good thing?"_

_"I'm not sure. Don't you hate how lonely you are here?"_

_"You come to visit me."_

_"But the other Senshi, the ones that protect the princess, train and roam free with her. I can't stand sneaking off here just to see the Senshi_

_and Princess I am supposed to Guard. You're planet is not desolate, and they wish to see more of you."_

_"I took on this responsibility to honor my planet's power. Now as a Guardian I can at least assist the Universe to my best ability."_

Pluto saw a tinge of pain in her own eyes. Had she truly forgotten her own pain? She felt a pain in her chest as if it was Charons- maybe she was feeling his pain. His pain had been the feeling of witnessing hers…she knew in her heart even then she ignored her own solitude. She knew she'd been a scout destined to stand still in time, but it was different back then. Now she was human too… suddenly she felt as if she had two lives. And yet he loyally adhered to her wishes and backed off then. She felt the memory blur as it moved forward.

_"I suppose I shouldn't tell them you used a portal today."_

Pluto's eyes rose, as she looked to Charon, now outside the Doors.

_"__I was only curious about what was going on outside…the Earth and the Moon…planets with life."_

_"Did you like what you saw?"_

_"What did I see Charon? You seem to know?"_

_"Well the Prince of the Earth, but you ought to know he is 'secretly' seeing the Moon Princess."_

_"He just seemed like a fair man."_

_"All the same I wouldn't tell a soul if it got you in trouble. You deserve such freedom. I'm happy for once you used my portals for your own gain."_

_"You still seem bitter?"_

_Pluto recollected on how her past words had been true. She could feel the pain in Charon's heart now, witnessing things from a different side._

_"I only care too much for you that it pains me to see you only finding freedom in glimpses of the outside world. I don't expect you could understand that or my jealousy."_

_"Jealousy?"_

_Charon broke his stoic tone. "Ahem, I … I'm beginning to think maybe I was not the best person to be your guardian."_

_"Why is that?"_

Pluto could feel the emotion in Charon's heart...or his memory of that emotion. Charon had fallen in love with her. She watched as he approached her and attempted to kiss her before the memory faded again.

_"There is supposed to be a ball at the palace two nights from now. Of any time to have one…they play games and dance in folly like we are not on the brink of war. And rumour has it it is deriving from the people of the earth - something with their rather crossed fate has now caused another crack before the scales break."_

_"It sounds like they are attempting to keep the people calm with a ball?"_

_"Princess, Pluto, while I admire your optimism, I've seen some of these humans twisted by darkness. The moment they find a way onto the Moon and they get away with it, we will have a formidable enemy. What's more that isn't all that troubles me…"_

_"What is it?"_

_"We…or rather you did not receive an invitation. That's why I only knew about it until now."_

_"I have my duties here. I'm sure that justifies that decision."_

_"Do you even care to enjoy your life while the rest of the world celebrates? Or is it only me that it hurts?"_

_"When were your words so sweet Charon?" She laughed almost mockingly._

_"Since I have let all of my guard down around you…and I am afraid I'm going too soft."_

_"I do care…but if anyone was to steal my key…or try to infiltrate us from another time…that knowledge is too precious…"_

_"You are the Senshi of Revolution, and The Unheard Scream…not of time. That was only bestowed onto your Planet the moment you accepted this. Can you not share this burden with another?"_

_"Well in a sense I do with you."_

_"If only I could take your place."_

_"You'd look ridiculous with two staffs…plus this one is a little…"_

_"Delicate?"_

Pluto caught a glimpse of her past self, staring at her. It was as if she saw a true happiness, one un-mellowed, and pure looking at Charon. This moment, if even for a second relieved some of the pain in his heart, but it grew. It was the foreboding kind. It now ached in hers, knowing how Charon felt, and recognizing her own denials.

And then it changed again. And all for the worse.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 26: The Breaking Point**

_"__I can't believe it. I knew if I told you …"_

_"You can't stop me. They will need me in this war. The messenger that came was surprised you hadn't told me yet." Pluto hid her own shame that the messenger had barely recognized her._

_"I was going to take your place in the war."_

_"Don't you have a place in the war to begin with?"_

_Charon looked to her. "I wasn't planning on fighting. Don't take me for a coward, but rumors say these people are strong…whatever darkness has corrupted the Earth will seep into this place and I fear the blood spilt will create rivers even my sister or Neptune cannot control. What more, I don't see how we should fight for people who have neglected us? They are blaming me for the mishap because the Princess used my portals to reach the Earth, and now they are afraid they will find a way here through them. Pointed fingers and misguided words. And I guarantee you they don't know you, truly you. The Queen or Princess rarely asks to see your face, and what's more-"_

_"Are you upset because I wasn't invited to the party tomorrow? You know its in good reason…If they do end up here I need to be present to guard the Gates."_

_"No. It's that you were never invited to any of the others either. And why can't somebody else guard the gates? I know you get lonely Pluto. You must. It just seems like a cage…and I've seen everyone enjoy the world outside this without such a burden on their life."_

_"Charon I do get lonely. But I have you. And…I'm sure they know who I am."_

_"But if you die in war, who will I have?" Charon looked to her in a small glimpse. "I know the same could be said, that without me you would not have anyone. But I think that only strengthens my point…"_

Pluto felt the pain in his heart. She saw the terror in her own eyes, hided by the brave guise of a senshi. She felt he heartbreak…already knowing how the story ended. All of these memories were so dark…she could feel her own heart weighing with them.

_"I can't believe she said that. Why does she do this? You're a girl…is that it Styx?" He looked at his younger sister, the same silver hair, but pale blueish eyes. He paced about Pluto's planet, as his sister visited, one of the few people who still used his portals._

_"You worry. She's strong…I mean even I've never seen her…but if she's like the other Senshi Guardians she'll survive the war. We all will. You should fight it too…"_

_"We're fighting a war for two…dare I say, ignorant people…we're supposed to spill our blood to protect the two people that got us into the war. Or rather just our Princess…I don't care much for the Earth Prince. Since when were lives weighted so unequally…"_

_"You were always a little pessimistic brother. You know my powers are in healing. I can change waters form. I'll use this to help everyone. Not many people have this that are both Moon and well…Mercury or Sedian or something…"_

_"I know your father was a different one to mine, but that naivety must also be a genetic trait I never received." Charon sighed. "I swear by you Styx, if things don't end up as you say they will I will never be the same again…or more I-"_

_"Enough brother. Everything will be fine. Now will you fight with us when the time comes? Some of us are leaving to train…plus there is the ball tomorrow at the palace! Can you believe I got an invite?"_

Pluto felt a strange weight in Charons heart for this memory; bitterness that even his sister got an invite that She had not, a sense of nostalgia to his family member, which led to the curiosity of where Styx would be now…and a fore-looming pain at the thought of it.

Pluto saw the next memory flash before her. And before it even started, she began to remember it herself from her own experience: the first time she truly had tried to protect the Gates at the sight of this dark Earth threat. Suddenly her own heart wished she hadn't remembered this. Suddenly things felt a lot darker.

_Charon walked in to see Pluto confronted by two dark men, with a strange glow to their eyes. They had to be spies from the Earth's evil colony. He noticed how she looked torn. Her staff infront of her but hesitant to use it._

That's when he spotted the young girl in the grasp of one of the men.

_"__Our general requested we take the key from you, if not by force then by wagering the death of this Moon girl."_

_"I can't let you take it."_

_"But you won't fight us?"_

_Charon watched the torment in her eyes… her role as protector versus the life of a child. She was torn. He assumed that was why she was not using her Dead Scream attack._

Pluto swallowed. Charon had been right.

_He didn't want them to see him. It would be best if he could strike them at a time unknown with his own power…although teleportation never worked in this place. He knew one would either have to travel outside of these boundaries or to another time to use a portal like his. This place was a restraint and closed off place. How the men got in was definitely an interesting feat in itself._

_"Fine, then I guess we'll strike." One of the men loomed towards the young girl, just as Pluto's eyes widened._

_"No!" She moved to stop the attack when the other man moved his own sword, swallowed in a similar dark power, towards her._

_Charon moved as swift as he could, in the fastest way he could…as his wolf self. He reached the spot and felt a deep gash hit his shoulder just as he landed in front of her. He'd stopped the blade from hitting Pluto. He saw the red blood spill over his silver fur in the corner of his eye._

Pluto recoiled. The feeling of Charon's pain. The recollection now of her own memory of this…seeing Charon get hurt ...the reason why the rest went so sour. It may have all been her fault.

_"Charon!"_

There it was. Her first mistake, letting Charon take the blow.

_Charon winced as he turned back to himself. If the man hadn't been so off put by his sudden appearance he would have been dead. His own staff appeared and created a dark green blast that moved the men backwards, teleporting them within this barriered space of the Gates, just a bit farther back, in a weak attempt to keep the men away from Pluto, since he could not teleport them outside._

_"Dead Scream!"_

_Then the men were gone._

_"Charon…"_

_"Why didn't you do that sooner…" Charon felt the gash, deep through his shoulder as he rose up._

_"Because of the- the girl!" Pluto ran over to the girl, who seemed asleep on the ground off to the side. When the fog parted, Pluto saw a terrible scene._

She remembered it now. This had been her second mistake. One of the reasons she'd been so drawn to Rini…those red eyes. The girl's eyes were red like Rini's, young and helpless like Rini's had once been. Empty, like she feared would happen if history replayed itself. The feelings of pain, that she couldn't even protect the girl whose innocent blood was spilled all for the name of war. She felt a broken rage inside of her, understanding now, if just a bit, how Charon felt about the spilt blood of war. She feared something inside of her was breaking.

_"If this has happened the war will likely start sooner than later." Charon said breaking the silence._

_"Then I will have to go and warn them. Is the ball not taking place?"_

_"Yes the ball is, but no. You … you need to stay here and protect this Gate. I will go in your place to war."_

_"With that shoulder? And now you're telling me what to do? To stay here? I thought you only wanted me to see the outside of this place?"_

_"Not like this. Not in war. This is my guidance. You cannot control what I do. I will leave now and go in your place. You cannot leave this place unarmed; it is the duty of your Guardian Senshi oath. They will only put you on the front lines, and you will … I don't need to see your blood shed for some war out broken by people who do not care much for you. I'd rather know my time as your Guardian was well spent."_

_"Well then I guess you're not my Guardian anymore." Pluto's back was turned to him. _This was her third.

_"What?" Charon felt the blood in his hand now. He would not die. But her words had sent a sharp pain on the same left side of his chest, just a little lower._

_"I renounce your place as my Guardian. Now you are just a subject of the Moon, and as a Senshi, Protector and Princess… I order you to stay here. I have locked the gates. Stay with this girl so she can have a proper burial. Since I cannot leave without knowing someone is protecting this place, that is the terms I will accept the invitation to war on. If you want to leave me happy Charon…stay here."_

_She felt Charon's own heart tear apart at these cold, emotionless words. Her coldness had only been to protect him…they'd both wanted to sacrifice themselves for each other but all they had done was broke each other's heart…they'd both died in a sense then_.

Maybe it had been the death of the girl, staring it straight in the eye. Death was actually part of her realm as a Senshi of Pluto, and yet seeing it straight on in the eye reminded her of her own mortality – how every time she died she would end up in the same place; alone, protecting the Gates of Time.

The next memory had moved forward. The war was over. Charon stood upon the wreckage of the Moon, with his now Allies.

_Charon looked over it. He recalled the image he'd seen upon escaping the Time Gate, and returning too late to stop anyone's death. He'd seen his sister die. Her words burned in his memory: __"__She'll survive the war. We all will… Everything will be fine."_

_Now nothing was left. It was all too real, and all too well how he'd predicted it._

_"Can you believe she sent them to the same Planet that released such darkness and great evil powers? I don't understand the logic." Sedna's voice chimed in breaking his thoughts._

_"She was weak. Some bleak last hope, and then watch, they'll all be reborn there and be fighting a new war with new blood." Varune shook his head._

_"And the cycle repeats." Ixion walked over. "Such a shame, I bet they won't remember any of this. I was still hoping for a chance-"_

_"Don't even. They started a war over their stupid love. They erased everything that had existed here, and then told the world to not be afraid of war by dancing around in ignorance."_

_"Woah, Charon…" Ixion said._

_"We all knew someone in that war. Someone we couldn't tell to turn around and see it for how it was. Most of us were neglected true Senshidom because we weren't chosen as Guardians. Who knows if the fight would have wavered with some of our powers on their side, no matter however dark they are." Varune calmed the air again._

_"And it seems Erida's brother has died in war. She's taken his place as heir of Eris." Orcus suddenly appeared behind them, now too overlooking the ruin._

_"So that was the terrible scream I heard early this morning… they were always the most vicious. To think his own love for war as an art form as he called it would be his downfall."_

_"War is not an art form. He was in love with the justice of it: The destruction of the other who pains your soul. In some cases, that is how we define true justice." Varune added._

_"Oh you're always so 'deep' and profound Varune. Almost as deep as the darkest of oc-"_

_"Enough with the remarks Ixion." Sedna snarled. "Erida and Charon have been isolated from everything, more than we were. Maybe one day something good will come of this."_

_"As long as history does not create another hierarchy as the one we witnessed…there may one day be a chance." Charon turned away. Everything inside him was broken. It was dark now. But knowing he had time to grow…maybe it would be a good time to learn how to make portals that would work inside the Gates of Time. At least then he could blame himself more for everything that happened…_

Pluto felt her heart snap. His pain. His desolation. The replaying of his sisters death…but did he see her own death? What exactly had happened?

Suddenly the looming feeling of the Demon Seed overcame her for a moment. Now…now this was her own memory…

_She blinked as she felt herself suddenly in a new surrounding. War. The war of the Moon in the Silver Millennium. Was she reliving the past? The other Senshi fought off the Generals around them, until each one of the Scouts was over taken by a darkness that seemed to wipe out almost everyone else too. _

_And then it was her._

_She was alone, when she heard the yell of a bell voice. Could it be the Princess? She ran to the steps of the castle, to see the Princess standing there, helplessly revealed for an attack._

_Pluto used her power to help protect the girl._

_She panted out. It was harder than she recalled, her mind still reeling with all of Charon's pain in her memory now and sitting still in her heart as some after affect of witnessing it all._

_"Are you alright?"_

_Pluto turned around to see the Prince of the Earth beside her Moon Princess._

_"I am now."_

_"We must get out of here. Another is coming…" The Prince took a protective stance, grabbing her hand to guide her along._

_"Wait…" The Princess said stumbling behind him. She turned to look back to Pluto._

_"Who are you?"_

_"I'm Sailor Guardian Pluto. I … I normally…protect the gates…" Pluto felt a guilt pit in her stomach for leaving Charon. Then it hit her._

_"Wait…you…you don't know who I am?"_

_Suddenly she felt the brutal pain in the memory of her own death come sweeping onto her._


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 27: Lies and Pain**

The scouts awakened to the darkened lair. They got up off the ground hesitantly. There was a strange silence about the place, it didn't seem real, in a space that didn't truly exist. Where had they been brought to and why hadn't they been able to find it before?

"Enough with the silent type stuff! If this isn't a trap then where is Luna and Artemis?" Mars chimed out into the darkness.

"Maybe we just played into their game…" Uranus looked apprehensive as they all stood waiting for whatever came next.

"I get the feeling this is too elaborate for just a trap…" Tuxedo Mask added.

"No, wait, up ahead." Neptune said.

They looked when suddenly the room seemed to lighten a bit ahead. Artemis and Luna in a darkened egg-like force field, unconscious as if sleeping.

"Let's go get them!" Venus began to run. Sailor Moon just behind.

"Wait, we shouldn't run into this right away!" Jupiter followed swiftly behind the others just the same, in an attempt to catch up with them in case it was a trap.

"But we're almost there!" Sailor Moon persisted.

Suddenly the room seemed to warp, as if it became longer and suddenly Luna and Artemis were farther away than before.

"I told you it was a trap..." Uranus said they were all slightly panting.

"Or a trick it seems." Mercury tried to scan the area. The room had in fact shifted in length somehow.

"Not a trick. But really you don't think we'd give them to you that easily?" Suddenly Sedna appeared behind them.

"It will be more fun our way. We want you to fight for them. Charon's last seed backfired a little…so we're going to have you fight two more of our Kakoi demons before we hand them over so simply." Varune shook his head appearing.

"But we were told otherwise." Venus persisted.

"You said the longer they stay in there the longer they're in danger…" Sailor Moon added with a worried whine.

"Oh so you care that your friends have been found but what about our Charon? No questioning as to his fate?" Ixion appeared making it obvious that their enemy had encircled the scouts.

"You said only the person who cared for him most could let him out. We couldn't get to Pluto…it's probably best she didn't come." Uranus defended.

"So you don't know? You really don't know?" Sedna laughed mockingly at them.

"What's going on?" Neptune asked.

"You don't seem to be aware of your fellow Scout's actions. She came on her own accord." Varune added.

"What did you do with her?" Uranus asked threateningly, turning to Ixion.

"Nothing. We didn't do a thing. But you'll find out about what Charon and her have been up to the moment you win this next battle. I told you you'd get your kittens back no tricks. It's not a trick, you will…but first…" Ixion smirked.

"It's my turn."

They looked straight ahead to see a man, overly tall, dark build, a slightly boyish face with chiseled features, with dark short cut hair and side burns that pulled down into his hard cheek bones. He was muscular, more than any other man in the room. His blue vest had spikes on its shoulders and he had a kind of a strong and harsh look about him. His eyes were silver, piercing.

"Good luck Orcus, you got the last to winners before the big boom." Sedna chimed before the others, were gone just as quick as they came in darkness.

"Who are you?" Jupiter looked to him, the only one willing to challenge his stone cold demeanor.

"Orcus, once called the Senshi Angel of War, but now I've seen it was just a poor excuse into making me an Angel of the Dead."

"How?" Uranus asked, suspicious of the man's dark tone.

"I brought death to those who required me to. The Moon's army once, took me up to make their weapons for war. My powers are in force, and for that never once was I seen as someone worth glorifying as a true Senshi. But now you will have to face both Pain, and the anguish of a False Oath, …if you really wish to know who you really are." His glare moved quickly from bitter, dark and evocative, to a young charm of a young man akin to power

"We know who we are…we just don't understand who you guys are." Venus cut him off.

"No, you know who you are according to how the Silver Millennium and the Moon wanted you to see yourself as. Specifically, a guardian: someone who only does well and protects their lovely princess from danger. But you can't even act like you have, in fact, protected the lives of _everyone_ when there are so many in this world who will be so easily swayed to sin or betrayed by isolation. And this time the Demon seeds will be in their raw form. If you can survive their wrath then, will you attain your friends."

The scouts watched as two seeds changed differently than before. The seeds seemed to sprout into the ground and from it grew two female demons that looked half normal half tree; its upper body almost human, almost nude, it's legs and arms vines that formed limbs that seemed to merge into the ground. One was dark red and the other was deep purple, but their roots were a strange glowing color between as if it was feeding off of some unknown source. Their eyes were almost white and glowing, the inside of them yellow, the black ghost-like face that normally marked the possessed human sat between their hipbones, ready to release seedlings. They had colored skin, and a rather sly mouth. _(I posted an Image on my Deviant.)_

"What are they?" Sailor Moon said clearly freaked out.

"The true forms of the Kakoi Demons. The demon seeds that sprouted from the Tree of War, out of the Apple of Discord, which came from the blood of the wrongly fallen." Orcus answered, who was now suspended up above, sitting, just watching the events.

"Well that clears things up…" Jupiter said sarcastically, apprehensive about the situation.

"I'm Algae, born of the Demon Seed of Pain. When the feeling over comes one of destruction and loss I am that. When things turn sour, and it is nobody's fault but their own I am the pit at the stomach that curdles, and the demon of the human who takes joy in causing that the overwhelming feeling of anguish and emotional termoil." The violet one said, her long hair curly and black.

"I'm Horkos, Demon Seed of the False Oath. I am the darkest of them all, the promise that causes the undone of another; the lie hidden as a truth. It's the undoing of a soul who asks for honesty and receives lies. The broken hearted, and the beginnings of all true chaos, under a mask of falsehood." The ruby one said, with long black hair, smooth, wavy. Their voices smooth but high pitched; somewhat evil, like a cackle, but somewhat seductive in their way with words.

Suddenly their dark maroon limbs, like tree trunks made from vines that became their legs, meeting their colored skin. Vines sprouted from their back, and danced around their upper body, naked in the shape of a human body. They moved like tree roots perforating the floor.

They reminded Sailor Moon oddly of the doom and gloom girls. They towered over them smirking.

"So, who wants to discover the pain of realizing all the petty lies you told yourself and others?" Horkos chimed, her vines suddenly reaching out quickly darting at the nearest scout who happened to be Mars.

She darted barely in time.

"We're innocent. You don't have the right to play a blame game of evil." Jupiter proclaimed.

"Ah, the scout who wishes she could find herself a boyfriend…always referring about her past ones but never has one… tell me Jupiter, how many times have you exaggerated about that? Willing to fight a man, but never let him in. Or how about the close friend of yours, you keep telling yourself you happen to be close with, when you know… it's much more." Algae spoke, her words like daggers to Jupiter, who stood still in her tracks.

"Jupiter don't-" Uranus said when suddenly , Algae struck her with a vine capturing her in her midsection from beaneath her.

"Oh Algae, always quick for the pain. Tell me, how long do you think they'd last, if they heard about all of the false oaths they've told themselves and others? How long could they handle the emotional toil turned to physical pain?" Horkos smiled.

"You handle the lies, I handle the pain." Algae said. "The more pain you feel about your own lies, the more physical pain I'll give you." Jupiter cowered.

"Ken and I…we're just…"

"Oh don't lie to yourself. You're so preoccupied with you exes you can't even see the boy infront of you. Sounds like a false oath to yourself." Horkos smiled, as the room seemed to stretch again, separating Jupiter from the rest of the scouts. Suddenly Horkos's vines submerged into the ground, only to reemerge, twisting up with Algae's.

"Is that emotional guilt I feel? Pain?" Algae laughed, when suddenly the vine around Jupiter glowed, as she cringed under the electric pain.

"I thought you'd be a bit more of a threat against them, but it seems not. And Uranus, you have such a nice sword, I was hoping to see you use it." Orcus smiled, his spiked shoulder pads moved closer to his ears as he leaned back above them, crossing his arms.

"We'll have them rounded up in a jiffy Orcus. Lady Eris will be so proud."

"We don't even have to seed them. They're guilty on their own." Algae and Horkos boasted. "Or how about you Tuxedo Mask?" Horkos departed and suddenly left Algae, their vines, now emerging from the floor like trees. "You flat out lied, said you would protect the scouts and let Pluto walk in here on her own didn't you?"

The scouts looked to him.

"That was her own decision to make. I trust Pluto to make her own decisions, and if Charon cares for her-"

"So if Sailor Moon made the decision to come here and save, oh I don't know, Diamond? Or how about Ixion? How would you feel?"

"Stop playing these games!" Neptune proclaimed.

"Oh games? No, no darling. Just revealing all of the pathetic lies you tell yourself, so you can wallow in your own internal pain turned physical? If we really wanted to play straight, you'd all be guilty and could be seeded as easy as pie…" The black fase over her low stomach, where the seeds would emerge, taunted the scouts.

They couldn't loose yet.  
Pluto depended on them.  
Luna and Artemis depended on them.  
Jupiter depended on them.

The world depended on them.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Tearing The Foundation Down By It's Roots**

"Algae, Horkos, lets divide an conquer. Maybe when they realize how guilty they are we'll let them get some answers to their questions." Orcus seemed to fall back into the shadows, as the room suddenly shifted and each scout found themselves alone.

"Come on and get out and fight! I'm not afraid of you!" Jupiter said still strung up by one of their vines.

"Oh, I can see it in this one's eyes: Pain… Are you remembering something? Oh, you know what she lies about? Jealousy!" Horkos approached.

"Oh I see it! We remind you of the Doom and Gloom sisters don't we? Oh but we're much worse. We can see that your pain hides most in your heart…the lonely scout." Algae loomed in.

"She supports her princess, but in the back of her mind wishes she could find a love like that. But she can't can she? Only she can win the heart of a man she'll run away from when the scouts are beckoned by the same princess who lives a happy life in love…or maybe she runs away from the man she knows she loves because she doesn't want him to become…what is it? Just another ex-boyfriend?" Horkos said as slowly their vines climbed up Jupiter, pinning her arms to her sides, wrapping her up in them like a stem; a tree, consuming her.

"I don't mind doing this if it's for the better of everyone." Jupiter persisted, as she aimed her rage, preparing to strike at the last moment.

"A half lie." Algae prodded. Her words like daggers.

"A truth!" Jupiter persisted. "And another truth, I'm going to cream you guys."

"Go for it. If you die too, I guess, either way you'll never get a chance to have a happy life with that boy…_Ken?"_

* * *

'Guys, where did you go?" Mercury called out. "I can't get a reading on anything here."

"It's because we're everything here. We're better than the punny fruits of your Earth, stronger than the trees decades old, and much faster growing than anything you've seen…darkness and discord flourishes…"

A vine suddenly darted for her wrist, catching her off guard, emerging from nowhere in the darkness.

"Where did the seeds of darkness come from?" Mercury clenched her fists, as she put her other arm instinctively in front of her to protect herself. She'd need to do something if she was going to get loose.

"Ah, the inquisitive one. The one whose answers never get found…"

"She's got love life issues too…" Horkos and Algae came down as if they were attached to vines from the ceiling…wherever that ceiling began.

"Yes, but we all know, her dreams will die too for the sake of her scoutdom." Algae's red eyes blinked at her, inches from her face.

"I don't care if I-" She stopped as the bitter pain from Algae's vine now wrapping around her neck brought a shock to her system. She needed to attack; but she wasn't going to do it well hanging like this.

"Can't become a doctor? Can't help people? Or maybe you're jealous of the free bird whose only occupation will be to save the world, and nobody expects more of her than that? But you? You're parents? Your goals? That brain of yours will go to waste, for the sake of waging wars against others." Horkos' vines wrapped further up her arm, now she was dangling from the top down, as if a prey of two black widows.

* * *

"Oh, onto the scout of love… rather loveless don't you think."

"I'm not listing to you two War demons, I've gone solo before I can handle it!" Venus claimed out to the darkness as it whispered to her.

"Oh right…and you could handle the love then. Perhaps you are jealous that your Princess could bring her Prince from the grasps of darkness, when you were left to kill the men you loved…" Horkos whispered now clearly behind her in her ear.

"Venus love and beauty shock!" She quickly turned, her attack hitting blackness behind her. She breathed out, having held her breath as she attacked. She couldn't understand what they were getting at. "I don't get it. I'm not jealous of-"

"Oh but you miss it. The spot light? Sailor V? Being number one scout? Kind of a fooling yourself and your friends playing number two in the scouts aren't you?" Horkos was behind her again. She went to jump away but instead her foot was entrapped in the demon's vine.

"No, no Horkos…even more so she misses a man she was never supposed to love. A real _Ace _of the deck wasn't he?" Algae appeared in front of her from the darkness, shooting a vine to Venus' neck as she was caught off guard. Sailor Venus put her head down and felt her palms crunch. She had felt long reminiscing feelings at times; ones she'd buried over the years... at times she had wished she could have saved him like Sailor Moon had released Darien from the brainwashing years ago but it was past now. She felt the pain of the vine twist around her neck.

"Soon they'll find out everything. I mean it is more or less Pseudia's territory isn't it?"

"What do you know? And how could you know anything?" Venus asked.

"Ah, well since we retained some of the memories of the warriors whose blood was our water, we could tell you…" Horkos smiled. "Algae, tell her the ultimate pain…" Horkos now had both of her elbows pulled back, restrained, as Venus fell to her knees.

She felt another breath near her face, and closed her eyes. Would love really be her downfall?

"Your Ace was never meant to be. You were adored a strong dashing and particular warrior of the Earth Prince named Kunzite in the past, and denied your Ace then…

\- Too bad you killed both of them."

* * *

"I'm done with this!" Sailor Mars sent out another flame arrow into the darkness to find they went nowhere.

"Done with what? Following, rather than leading?" A vine darted out from the darkness as she just barely leapt over it.

"Hah! I do what I please thank you."

"Says the scout who's first love was a Prince whose already taken? Who is a brave leader, but willing to side step for another for the sake of title?" Another vine whished past her, close to her face as she barely missed it.

"Old news, you're bark is worse than your bite ! Hah!" She sent another flame into the darkness.

"Ah, the scout who foretells the future, but cannot see her own downfall…" Algae whispered.

"The best friend, second fiddle? Gets all the left overs…the Goddess warrior Scout, and puts up with the pain of it all? Don't lie, if you really had things your way, you wouldn't have to had to suck it up? Act all defensive and clean up the messes? To watch your first love hold onto another and never once look at you? To run a temple and act as a sailor scout and get good grades while others get by doing so much less?"

The voices seemed to talk in unison. She moved her head, as she felt her anger rise. "Don't think I'm that easy to read-" She took out one of her scrolls.

"You are but one small breath from being burnt out."

Mars instinctively threw the scroll into the darkness, and just as quickly more vines than she could count came at her from all angles, restraining her in a web.

"Well…fire will burn you up." She lifted her head, her arms and legs stretched, she was open and vulnerable but she wouldn't stop. Even if parts of what they were said was true, she would be strong enough to get out of this.

Algae and Horkos emerged, playing off each other's sly gaze.

"Then burn us down with you. Your flames are nothing; we've already broken down the wall you've tried to build for years. We call your bluff; _that_ confidence is just pain in disguise."

* * *

"Pair of fake scouts, the doubters, the ever important and the left overs kept to the outer skirts of the system…an extra pair of eyes, and nothing more."

"Come out and fight like the real monsters you are!" Uranus called out, her back to Neptune as they looked ahead to the surrounding darkness.

"Hah, just like the Pluto one they think themselves superior when really they were the spares. The odd ends. Four plus two more."

"We are the outer senshi, there is nothing you can say to deny us." Neptune proclaimed.

"Your oath is by far the falsest: The first to depart the faltering powers of the moon princess, the first to turn against, the first to sacrifice in the face of war. There is no winning. You two are by far the falsest of cousins and the falsest of scouts."

"Our seeds and powers are not far from your own struggles; you two claim to be the hardest to fight, but now you are the easiest to overcome."

* * *

Sailor Moon swallowed. Her friends were gone. It didn't matter how much she called, for the last short while she'd found there wasn't a soul around her.

By far this feeling that came over her, this quiet silence, the void…the fear that her friends were in trouble and she was helpless to aid them…well it was a feeling she'd come to know at some of the darkest of times; a feeling that haunted her deeply.

She closed her eyes. Anything? Any noise, light, shadow? She silently prayed.

Steps?

A Dull noise from far away, Repeating like footsteps.

Perhaps…

"Anyone? Is someone coming?"

"Serena!"

The voice…it was Tuxedo Mask it had to be, but from where?

"Darien! I'm here? Are you okay? Where are you?"

She heard the steps getting closer as she saw the darkness ahead of her shift for a moment.

"Darien!" She ran forward. A part of her warned her it might not be him moving in the darkness, but if he was near, as his voice told her, he would be around soon to help.

"I'm here, I couldn't find the other scouts! I'm so glad your oka-" She saw him only for a moment before she realized why she could distinguish his shape so well.

A spinning wheel of fire was coming up behind him.

"Nooo whatch out!" She cried.

Suddenly as he turned his back was hit with flame, singing his shoulder and part of his cape, as he collapsed in pain, rolling up his back until it dissipated at the top.

"Tut, tut, please don't interrupt. Did you think you were getting away? You by far are one of the guiltiest here…your Earth's footprint on what was once our Moon Kingdom when we followed it is the reason why the first war ever broke out. You can run towards your selfish love, but you can't run away from the consequences." Ixion revealed himself for a brief moment from the darkness, only to dissipate again into it's shadow.

Suddenly from the darkness, a vine wrapped around Tuxedo Mask's arm, one the same side as his burnt shoulder, just as another seemed to find Sailor Moon's wrist, pulling them back in opposite directions, unable to find each other's solace.

"Do you really think Horkos will make them see their lies?" Orcus asked skeptically, his voice the only sound in the place, unseen in the dark.

"If not I'm sure Eris will be quite persuasive. I heard she plans to use Pseudia's powers if she needs to." Sedna tapped her fingers on her chin, a sound barely audible in the room.

"Frankly, I think they'll all be surprised; I don't think they have a damn clue what we went through." Ixion chimed in.

"Doesn't mean they won't resist." Varune said darkly.

"We will force them to see the truth of it, they will witness this world fall apart under their rein as we watched our world fall to pieces in the past." A glowing symbol on her forehead illuminated her eyes, a deep maroon stare, broken and vengeful, calm and chaotic, the eyes of the keeper of the Seeds of Discord; their leader Eris.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: A Bitter Past &amp; An Innocent Heart**

"The princess herself." Horkos whispered in Sailor Moon's ear.

"Perhaps she blames herself that her guardians have fallen so easily; but of course they were here to protect you…the appetizer before the main dish." Algae teased.

"What did you do with them?" She tilted her head away from their invasion of her space; she was already pinned with vines with little time to protect herself after being torn from Darien.

"Simply let them feel the bitter pain of the ugly truth coming from the shallow lies they told themselves! Their own faults; they were far from innocent of lying to themselves, lying to others, and succumbing to that pain…all to put on the sailor act…"

"But what do you wish to mull over?" Horkos looked at her, her white yellow eyes flashing red for a moment as if to display its ability to see into the self. "You're sad because there was nothing you could do to protect them…"

"A lie." Algae's vines tightened.

"No… I couldn-t-"

"Find them? Hah, years ago you set them on this path, its been a millennia..."

"I didn't-I wouldn't have-" She stuttered over her words as she felt the pain of the vines zap through her. It reminded her of the shock of getting seeded, except it seeped through the skin; a burn, a vulnerability of herself that leaked into the soul.

"You still can't admit your own fault? She is by far the most innocent, and the most sheltered of them all…a fault in itself…but even that she can't see…" Horkos hissed.

"Then we cannot proceed." Algae however continued to cause her suffering, although her words to Horkos suggested otherwise.

"Aggghh…" Sailor Moon's persistent moans from the pain seemed but background noise to their inwards conversation.

"Pseudia is needed. We are all needed united. I feel a call to return…"

Suddenly Sailor Moon felt gravity pull her down, back to the ground, her skin charred with marks and burns from the vine's power. She groaned as she looked around, raising her head, her body still aching. What did they mean that they couldn't proceed? How could she have set her friends on this path? Where were they? She needed to find them and Luna and Artemis still…

"So you lost… Or rather…actually this could be considered winning. Your naivety is by far the most powerful…so I do suspect that you ability to withstand could be considered victory. But, only because I suspect that you in fact wouldn't succumb to _their _powers. Ironic that Lethe was the only one who could seed you… forgetting is your forte. You forgot everything so easily." Ixion appeared again.

"If I – won, give Luna and Artemis back." She tried to prop herself up by her elbows to get a better look at him.

He raised a brow considering it. She noticed that the others were now behind him. "You want them? Your first question is about them? Not what in fact you forgot from your past?" He looked irritated. "Here they are; them and all your friends…"

She looked to the side and now saw, what was almost a tower of vines tangled upwards, all of her friends, Tuxedo Mask and her two cat friends included, wrapped up amongst them, unconscious, if not barely there.

"Let them go."

"They aren't confined in that egg anymore. They're here, with us, just …resting. They just succumbed to their _own_ battles, not the one you were fighting for." Orcus spoke bluntly.

"I don't understand... and where is Pluto?!" She tried to prop herself up higher.

"Ooh, this one's really spunky huh? Should have known the little Princess would still believe her hands to be innocent, clean of blood!" Sedna smiled, teasing her ignorance, her heels clacking as she approached.

"She believes so much in her own innocence it seems even Horkos can't pry that truth out of her." Varune looked down, his eyes cold and disapproving.

"Let them go…if I'm the one at fault…" She persisted, her voice slowly regaining its stature.

"Far from it. You all are at fault. Who you were in the past…perhaps you did not always choose ignorance over knowing, but you never questioned it. We're going to show you the shadow on the wall you chose to believe when really there was a world…so much more that was happening." Ixion's eyes seemed to light up in a passionate flame. His words just a tip of an iceberg, submerged in the dark and vague waters of the past.

"Sailor Moon…"

She looked over and noticed her friends. A few of them were coming to.

"We did succumb to our own lies…but it's because we want to hold onto our dreams…" Venus groaned as her hung head moved to the side.

"But that doesn't mean we don't want to protect you or believe in you." Jupiter muffled out.

"We don't- blame you." Mercury's head lifted.

"If anything we blame ourselves…" Mars added with a grunt.

"Oh how noble! You blame yourselves? Good, because when you hear our stories of your beautiful Silver Milennium you're going to!" Sedna said, her words bitter.

Sailor Moon considered trying to purify her friends from their confines…even if she was weak. She went to move when suddenly she found her arms held back in vines. Did the Demon's not say they had been summoned to return somewhere?

"Don't move a muscle." Orcus' voice bellowed. "My ancestor was considered an ally of death; next time my powers of immense pressure I used to forge all those weapons can be used to crush you! If you wish to fight us, then you are only proving what we already saw in the past true." His words strong and powerful; a threat he seemed eager follow through on.

"Dear Princess, let us tell our stories, and then you can decide how innocent you truly are…let's not forget, your friends are quite compromised at the moment…" Ixion stepped closer, his voice not demanding so much as persuasive. She had little choice; there was four of them and only her…what was more was whoever this Eris was … well she was present too…and if she did move, her friends were still captured… if they suffered much more she feared for them.

"Long ago we too were just considered Planetary Senshi…we still are…but we were never fully acknowledged for who we were. Removed from that space, kike some of Galaxia's followers, from the chance to become full fledged Sailor Scouts… " Sedna paced.

"As Minor Planets we had a long looming curse to our names, or rather a rumor filled the minds of everyone: we were seen as less powerful, and because our planets, like our ancestors, were born farthest away from the light, it was understood that our powers could only bring the same darkness they were born from." Varune continued.

"Some of us are even distantly related to the inner senshi… it was said my ancestor was cousin to Pluto's ancestor. Our Lady Eris' famed to be distantly related to the Warrior Senshi Ares, of planet Mars. But none of that mattered. Long in the past world was a history of our people no louder than background noise." Orcus added.

"But you see, it all went rather sour as the years went on… soon our planets, more and more rumored as outlaws became seen as only outlaws. When we made a boo-boo, it seems the universe saw it as a catastrophe; should any other Guardian make a mistake, well it was overlooked or lightly punished. Soon, although us of all rulers of our planets, when it came to the recognition we deserved; no Inner Planet saw us as royalty. None of the citizens, and few of our own people retained our respect. We were not Princes or Princesses of our planets, but _mere_ Senshi, with cursed powers and gifts that were best used to aid at often the same level as the average person… we had no cavalry, no power, as even our own people began to doubt our recognitions." Ixion's eyes looked dark; his recollection of these days awakening something in him, his voice however mocking and light, as if this story was a point of bitterness that only his cynicism could illuminate.

"Varune and I…our ancestors, were rejected simply because two other scouts had taken over the domain of the seas. I of the Deep corners of the water, and him of the Ocean's creatures, two things perhaps belittled by the famed Neptune and Mercury, the ruler of oceans and the all-round ruler whose powers were matched in wit. Instead I was to be made equivalent, in the eyes of most, to some sea-animal tamer so our universe could better use their skills for whatever idle task they needed. Varune's own unique ally was killed because some of the Moon people decided that his planet's "strange" wildlife was amusing, when he'd told them only to take care of it, and so he wear's his fallen ally's bones as protection, so he would always be by his side. His anger caused his rejection from the Moon and so I soon followed after, because I too knew those who did not keep their word and who had belittled us and our abilities, and our allies for mere playthings, had wronged us deeply. When he denied warriors the backs of his planet's sea-monsters after his own was killed, and I denied the taming of water's wildest because I was sick of being unrespected it wasn't hard for us to deny our place in any war fighting for those who rejected us…" Sedna's fist's bunched, as Varune put his hand on her shoulder; his boned staff, that snakelike skull head and eyes glowed, as if to reflect the anguished power he too restrained in this recollection.

"You know well, I already revealed I was reduced to some blacksmith man when I was asked to aid in your petty war… the powers of my planet, Orcus, like Pluto were linked to quick and painless deaths. Powers that only one Scout could remain with on the terms she became a Time Guardian…but for I no such chance. My ability, my powers, what my people long called as the Angel of Death, as the rightful ability to cause suffering to anyone who was deemed worthy to die; the betrayers and liars…wasn't seen as a tool of justice, it was feared. Of course this meant my weapons could destroy many, but it also meant others saw me as some monstrous killer… they thought if they used my power in segmented pieces in weapons… I was useful?! What Dead Scream was to Pluto, my powers were a Punishment of Near Silence! I could kill without destroying planets at my best, a brink between Eris, Pluto and Saturn's powers…and instead I played the standby worker… until now." Orcus' anger seemed clear; he had hated being on the sidelines. If Saturn had been so chained by her powers because of their power and might, clearly, he was feared for his powers as well.

"So I suppose… next would be me." Ixion's arms were crossed snidely. His smirk appeared on his face.

"It's not a theatre show." Sedna hissed.

"On the contrary, isn't it? I really must bask in the glory that is the isolation of Sailor Moon without her tag along Prince." Ixion looked to her, standing over, as her eyes moved from his shoes at her place near the ground to his face. Her eyes now conflicted. So the truth was perhaps becoming a bit more real for them now was it?

There was a grunt from where Tuxedo Mask was. "Don't get any closer-"

"Oh, so he's finally coming to? Get closer to who? Sailor Moon? Or what? What could you possibly do?" Ixion asked taking a step forward. " I really hope your all listening… Now you see, along with your dearly departed Prince Diamond, I too visited the Moon, and as a reject found a brief glimpse of the splendor of that place in the past only to be rejected from it then and now. I, and my ancestors, was not accepted because a certain Fire Warrior planet was seen as stronger. Personally all I saw was a _larger _planet named Mars. Like Orcus, even the tiny factor that our ancestral heritage might prove that my family was actually somewhat related to the first born of Mars, Ares, I never adhered to that excuse. Who's to say the first is always best? But you see, my story started when everyone decided they wanted another Fire Senshi on the soldier's team…Fire was a warrior's light and power. They wanted to recruit me as a soldier. A step closer to undoing my planet's ancestral shame…that is that my ancestor killed someone important on the Moon Kingdom…blah blah. That being said, when I arrived on the Moon, you see, I happened to find a beautiful garden, only to find out that it was in fact a Castle Garden… and that's when I saw you. You see Sailor Moon, from a far I became infatuated, and with no shame I admit now I see that perhaps you had no clue of how men like me suffered. I don't doubt you scouts had infatuated men who were too small for you to see, but still suffered for your cause…"

He looked to the scouts who now seemed a bit more apparent. He looked down to the blue eyes that seemed wide, listening intently, unmoving, scared, and unsure. "When I inquired about you I was faced with laughs. I was a Prince of my Planet, and you a Princess of yours, but unlike your Prince of the Earth to whom you broke our universe for, but I was not treated like one! None of us were royalty to you and your people! In fact, I was seen as less likely that a common Selenian to find myself courting you! So don't blame me when I tell you that we all sat back and watched your world burn because we refused to fight for a kingdom who denied our respect…and perhaps some of us suffered too watching people we had once cared for die! Now…perhaps you can see… how far you are from being innocent…however ignorant you were to us…however blissful you were….you cannot deny … you lead everyone down a dark path, and this is what has become of it."

* * *

_Author Note:_

_Okay so I'm really sorry for not updating but I have done this stupid thing where I write too many fanfics…more than I can handle and jump between them while in school…and I've had so many ideas for this __fic...but between School and the release of Sailor Moon Crystal which turned me right off SM until i rewatched the 90s version i was at a stand still SO..._

_Anyway if you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to review. Will try to update asap… xox_


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: All Is Far From Fair in Love and War**

Sailor Moon looked up to him, his boots now an inch from her face. How could any of this be true? Had all of this gone on without any of them knowing? Why didn't they remember? And surely she wouldn't have advocated this kind of stuff…her mother…her mother saved everyone with the crystal...it just didn't sound right. And yet his face, looking down at her had such restrained anger and passion; perhaps she knew little about the politics of the past...and why had Ixion compared himself to Prince Diamond?

"Oh come now Ixion," A voice from the shadows calmly called out, as he almost instantly retreated back towards the others. "Let's not overload them at once. Speaking of which, shall we bring them all back down to our level? We wouldn't want the scales to be uneven… we surely don't need to outnumber them...power is not an issue here. Let's let them down." A woman in a dark maroon dress, with a staff that seemed to be protecting something at its peak, entered the room. Her deep dark hair held up in braids wrapped around a long trail of hair, just skimming the back of her legs. Through her bangs was a symbol, like any other senshi emblem, that seemed to burn the same color as her dress. Her lips deep red, and eyes nearly twinned in color; she was pretty, but at the least held an aura of power around her undeniable to the rest of the scouts.

She put her hand into the dull lighting of the space and snapped her fingers.

The vines suddenly seemed to recoil around Sailor Moon's friends, as the scouts suddenly all fell the ground. If it was supposed to be a liberating action, it was not graciously provided. A few of them groaned as they tried to prop themselves up… it wouldn't be good if they were already this weak and another battle was about to ensue.

"Why are you telling us this if we couldn't do anything to stop it? The past was far…we never knew about you then." Uranus asked.

"We didn't even know it was going on! You can't expect us to be held responsible." Venus persited.

"Ixion was right; ignorance is the truest form of bliss. Please don't cry wolf now…if I let Pseudia show you all the memories we had suffered from that time, the ones you never saw, well your noble actions would fall to dust."

"Who are you anyway to say these things?" Mars propped herself up onto her elbows. "You act pretty high and mighty."

"I'm Lady Eris, last standing guardian and Princess of the planet Eris. I had been formerly known as Erida before I was forced to take my place as leader of the Minor Senshi, and retook my name as I would a senshi." She looked at them. They were so petty and ignorant to it all. "So, considering how you don't seem to care much now, as you did then, about our torments, I suspect it's time for you to go-"

"We're not leaving here without Sailor Pluto." Sailor Moon found her ground on two feet again. Tuxedo Mask watched her carefully, attempting to pull himself up on his uninjured side.

"After all that? That is all you have to say? But ah, yes, true…I guess you didn't have a chance to hear Charon's side of the story either…" Eris said nonchalantly.

"So he survived… Pluto got to him in time…" Tuxedo Mask found his footing only barely.

"Oh of course she did. Their long-standing history predicted it so. Actually… Charon?" She called out.

"Yes, Eris." A shadow said.

"Perhaps it best to tell them your side of the story…then _all _the Guardian scouts can be introduced to your past." Eris put her hand to her chin, her smile amused to say the least.

Charon revealed himself; the green crystal like a lantern that hung from his staff, illuminating his shadow in an eerie tone.

"I am Charon, _once_ ex-Guardian to Pluto's Moons. I was once a protector, as I once could appear in the form of wolf to protect her as your cats do now. Once I was reduced to existing as the maker of teleports; my power to transport through space, from one realm to another. I was a mere ferryman, a guide, rather than a true senshi when I was not by Pluto's side. It was when they asked me to transport the dead, to move the soldiers in battle bodies away from the grounds so that they could be buried in peace, I turned away from the fighting or supporting that war. I would not be a grave digger of suffering souls. At least that was one of the reasons. I, like my comrades, have little left in pride as to how we were treated."

"Then who do you choose to be now? Surely you wouldn't leave Pluto to the Demons? I saw you save her before." Tuxedo Mask seemed to take upon himself the guilt for Pluto's disappearance, but also, from one man to another, the position they took as protector for the ones they loved had to be stressed.

"I said I was _once_ Pluto's guardian." Charon repeated.

The room fell silent as a few of the scouts wondered if that meant that it had been a trap for Pluto…that in fact, perhaps he did not care. His tone, however strong, had a brokenness to it; like a stringed instrument, powerful, but with a single broken or out of tune string. He was the one they could not read most.

"I was also _once _demoted by Pluto's hand from that titled, but _now…_" He put out his hand, and soon after a hand found its place in his."..._Once_ again, I am Charon, Minor Senshi _and_ renowned Protector of Pluto and supporter of the Kallisti Demons of Discord."

Sailor Moon took a step forward. Did that mean Pluto and Charon had found common ground? Was it Pluto beside him all along?

"Don't." A familiar voice rang out as if to prevent her from taking another step.

"I won't be needing these." Unable to see her, the scouts only saw two small items emerge from the shadows: what appeared to be a Transformation Pen and a belted ring of keys, with one that looked a lot like Pluto's scepter, thrown from the darkness as they clinked on the ground nearly hitting Sailor Moon's boot.

The silence that filled the room could not have been more stressed by the sound it made.

"Sailor Pluto what are you doing?" Uranus called out, lost by her ally's sudden irrational actions.

"You can't retain your gifts as Time Guardian if you reject those." Neptune pleaded.

"Don't call me _Sailor_ anymore. I've seen the blood of the past war, images I can't remove from my mind…now I am just a senshi, not a guardian. I am stepping down from that…"

She stepped out of the shadows. She was now wearing a black strapless body suit, which at the waist had a long skirt of black that hit the floor, transparent panels almost, with two slits that reached up to where her legs began. Around her hips was a silver chain of deep red starbursts. Her sleeves only short loose panels that kept her shoulders bear, skimming her elbows. Around her neck was a chain that held the ring that Charon had given to her with the garnet. Her Garnet Orb now fit on a staff held between two prongs at the top, with three smaller red gems and some finite details down the neck of the staff.

"You don't need to step down…if you don't want to fight against Charon, or us I understand-" Sailor Moon pleaded.

"I am the senshi I was meant to become now. Pluto was the long planet of revolution, another minor planet of death. I was only the attributed to time when I was given the roll of Guardian, on the terms that I got to become a senshi…I was disillusioned by some faint idea that I could make my people more known, and feel important. For millennia I sat by the Gate of Time with only Charon by my side. Nobody knew what I looked like, nobody cared what I sacrificed for everyone… and the only powers I gained would kill me if I used them! Tell me, would you ever be jealous of my gift?" Pluto's voice was calm as it always was, but her voice was perhaps more powerful in grit.

"Perhaps you see, you are a bit more guilty thank you think Sailor Moon." Eris smirked. "The Moon is not the saving grace you think it is."

"Undo this! Bring her back!" Neptune called out.

"What is there to undo? It is all truth, and my hand in this is but minimal. I only showed her what I told you all. You call yourselves the Outer Senshi, but you are not all Outer Senshi; Pluto is a Minor who was brought into your world to be used. Her past is as bitter as our own." Charon admitted stepping forward.

"I cannot choose to have those powers, when all those who I protected never valued my sacrifices."

"But I value you! We all do Pluto…" Sailor Moon cried out. Had Pluto really dealt with all of these agonies on her own? What did she witness that could have turned her against them?

"Do you? Did you have to fight off Beryl's spies alone while the rest of the Moon was dancing that night on the brink of war? Even after all I was denied, I protected you in death, only to find you never knew my name or my face! I was the Scout of the shadows, hidden in Time, told to protect that same group of people in Time who hid me, unable to leave. The only gratitude I was privileged was being granted my own guardian, whom had to watch me suffer in pain. After so many years, it is only now that I can thank him for helping me find my place." She looked to Charon. Charon looked at her back.

Perhaps it was only himself, but Tuxedo Mask wondered if he saw hesitance in Charon's eyes, although Charon appeared to give an approving nod to Pluto.

"Truth hurts, don't it?" Eris laughed. "Perhaps now if I asked you to face Horkos and Algae you'd see your guilt…"

"But I never wished this on anyone…"

"Oh my dear Princess you didn't think about anyone, or the repercussions of what you started the moment you remained in ignorance! The only time you held any head of your own was when you made the decision to break laws for your own love! Love started that War, but it was a Love for only One that caused the blood of many!" Eris' patience grew thin.

"Stop talking in riddles, how could Sailor Moon have started a war?" Mercury asked.

"Cut this crap. We don't want you or your seedlings on our Earth, so stop blaming us for putting them there." Jupiter said as now most of the scouts had regained their footing.

"Oh, but you created the Demon Seeds not me." Eris shook her head. She put her hand to the side as if to present something, and suddenly a tree behind them was illuminated, glowing in a strange thriving power. "This is my gift to you; the gift of true knowledge! Knowledge of sin and war that was born long ago on the Moon, a truth you thrust upon your people then, and you'll watch your people suffer now from it!"


End file.
